BRATTLEBORO-Inspired by the natural world, artists have long contemplated diverse themes such as history, science, memory, and spirituality. Eleven contemporary artists explore these ideas and more in the exhibition "In Nature's Grasp," currently on view at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC). The public is invited to join a curator tour of the 32 artworks in the exhibit on Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m.
BMAC Director of Exhibitions Sarah Freeman, guest curator Michael Abrams, and several of the exhibiting artists will guide visitors through the exhibit, welcoming questions and conversation.
The artists featured in the exhibit approach nature both literally and abstractly, some working with landscape imagery and others conjuring ideas of nature through textures, shapes, and color, or through an aspect of their artmaking process.
Their common thread, Freeman explains, is the centuries-old concept of the Sublime in nature, first described by the philosopher Edmund Burke in his 1757 book, A Philosophical Enquiry. Burke noted that certain experiences supply a thrill that mixes fear and delight, which he called the Sublime. He declared the Sublime to be the strongest human passion, and observed that experiences and sensations elicited by nature were more powerful examples of the Sublime than any others.
"All of the artists in 'In Nature's Grasp' offer different visual and tactile interpretations of our fragile living environment," Freeman says. "They each take viewers to different realms of the senses."
Included in the exhibit are sculptural works of Athena LaTocha, Richard Fishman, and Jai Hart; landscape paintings by Shawn Dulaney, Marcy Hermansader, Lily Prince, Ron Milewicz, Eileen Murphy, and large-scale works of Rick Harlow; photography by Renée Greenlee; and landscape video by filmmaker Jeffrey Blondes.
These artists revere our planet in unique ways "for its awesomeness, beauty, and capacity to astonish and thrill," says Freeman.
"In Nature's Grasp" is on view through June 16.
Admission to the event is free. Registration is recommended, but walk-ins are welcome. To register, visit brattleboromuseum.org or call 802-257-0124, ext. 101. Call for accessibility questions and requests or email office@brattleboromuseum.org.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.