Holly Cohn, Letha Kelsey

press release: Solo exhibitions by artists Holly Cohn (Madison) and Letha Kelsey (Lodi) will be on view beginning Friday, November 17, at the Wisconsin Academy's James Watrous Gallery, located on the 3rd floor of Overture Center for the Arts in Madison. Of the two Wisconsin-based artists, Watrous Gallery director Jody Clowes says that "both translate the experience of daily life and intimate relationships into poetic, beautifully composed paintings enriched with collage and sculptural elements." Dates to note:

• Exhibition dates: November 17, 2017 – January 28, 2018
• Artists’ reception (free and open to the public): Friday, December 1, 5:30-7:30, with informal gallery talks by the artists at 6:15 pm
• Gallery closed December 24 – January 2
• Free Art@Noon exhibition tour Friday, January 26

Holly Cohn: The Endless Unbegun

For the past several years Holly Cohn has been creating paintings and sculptural constructions that respond to Wislawa Symborksa's poem Sky. Touched by the questions Sky poses about the mystery of loss and connection, Cohn translates her response into visual metaphor. She combines landscape fragments and images of deep space--which she calls "unframed markers of particular moments"--with etched metal elements and found objects to create hauntingly beautiful pieces that defy categorization. The exhibition's title, The Endless Unbegun, is taken from a poem by Rachel Jamison Webster, whose work has also had a powerful influence on Cohn's thinking.

Letha Kelsey: Homing

Letha Kelsey's recent paintings are connected to a strong instinct to return home, and to be fully present to that inward return. The birth of her two sons and the intensely focused experience of caring for them has concentrated Kelsey's attention on what is close at hand. This current body of work combines painting and collage, bringing together fragmentary elements, patterns, and objects to capture the spontaneous flow of play, conversation, repetition, and juxtaposition that comprises daily life.