Exhibitions

HOMINAL: STATE OF MIND

Rust Hall Alumni Gallery (Memphis College of Art) / 1930 Poplar Ave. March 29, 2019 - April 9, 2019

Mark Rowell, Taylor Palas

Hominal: State of Mind features work by our spring 2019 MFA graduates – Mark Rowell and Taylor Palas. The exhibition showcases a variety of media and talents, from sculpture to drawing and painting.

Mark Rowell creates explorative sculptures using transitive materials, such as wax to discuss human identity and potential on an individual, personal basis. Mark is a Chicagoland artist currently based and residing in the Memphis area working towards a Masters degree in studio art from the Memphis College of Art. Consistently working with the human figure, his process begins with hand carved wax bodies, hands, or faces. Then the stability of the piece as an individual is questioned through the materiality, mould making and movement. This seeks to echo a journey that shifts focus away from a concrete static self, bound in physicality, and towards the mental perception of the self that accepts change and adapts to new circumstances.

Taylor Reid Bonham Palas received her Bachelor’s of Fine Art at Belmont University in 2016. She now attends Memphis College of Art pursuing her MFA in Studio Art with an emphasis on drawing and painting. For the past few years, Taylor has reflected on her own memories and crucial experiences in her life to influence her artwork. Struggles with mental health and perceptions of life are portrayed in charcoal on bed sheets through figurative portrayal and the conceptual framework of comparing natural elements and storms to the uncontrollable chaos of anxiety and depression. The purpose of the creation of this work is to destigmatize conversations about anxiety and depression, and to demonstrate the alleviating strength of airing out emotions and inner tribulations. Taylor invites the viewer to be more open with their own whirling, anxious thoughts.

Gallery hours are Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday, noon – 4 p.m. All MCA exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public.