Exhibitions

TERRA INCOGNITA

Groundfloor Gallery + Studios / 942 4th Ave. S. June 8, 2019 - June 30, 2019

Andy Harding, Erin Murphy

Terra Incognita, or “unknown land,” is a term used in cartography to label regions that have not been mapped or documented. The phrase became popular during the Age of Exploration and served as an enticing call to action for explorers. In an updated context, Terra Incognita frames the pursuit Erin Murphy and Andy Harding have been laboring over in their individual art practices for many years. Looking to everything from cosmology to geology and surveying both the expansive and the minute, Murphy and Harding investigate the rich vein of imagery and concepts offered up by the natural world. However, they remain focused on a deeper interest in the larger questions of being: Why are we here? How did our world and all that is in it come to be? And how do we assuage our hunger for the infinite in a finite world?

In this exhibit, Murphy shows us familiar textures and surfaces of our surroundings, stitched into new, imaginative compositions and structures. Harding offers a meditation on a host of scientific themes, from the inner workings of matter on a quantum scale to ecological and cosmic epochs. These themes influence his choice of material, form, and process--all of which echo the grand cycle of transformation evident in nature. The artists work in a variety of media including drawing, installation, sculpture, and collage. Whereas Murphy’s work has an imaginative undertone influenced by folklore and magical realism, Harding’s sculpture strikes tones of Eastern philosophy and mysticism. Both artists share an affinity for science fiction and fantasy that manifests itself in their work.