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McLean Project for the Arts will launch two winter exhibitions on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, pairing unconventional quilting with sculptures that blur the line between physical objects and their shadows.
The opening reception for “Pieced Together, We are Whole” and “Playing with Shadows: Works by Liz Lescault” begins at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“Pieced Together, We are Whole” features Megan Koeppel, Susan J. Lapham, Russ Little, Dominie Nash, John Paradiso and Imani W. Russell. The six artists take nontraditional approaches to quilting, using stitching, piecing and other techniques to combine materials, methods and ideas.
Their works explore personal, political and universal subjects. The process of joining separate pieces into a unified whole also reflects themes of communion, cohesion, gathering, blending and building.
Nancy Sausser, MPA’s artistic director and curator, said she was excited to bring together artists who primarily work in fiber while merging technique, material and meaning.
Lescault’s solo exhibition, “Playing with Shadows,” presents biomorphic sculptures made mainly from extruded plastic filaments, with some works incorporating found objects. The fine strands cast shadows that become part of the sculptures and can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from the physical forms.
The exhibition considers how remnants—including shadows, fossils and residues—can reveal an object’s history or provide insight into its present condition. Sausser said Lescault’s works complement the fiber exhibition by echoing weaving and sewing techniques while using a contemporary material not commonly associated with artmaking.
MPA will also hold an artist talk at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and a Tea & Talk at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11. Both programs are free and open to the public.
The Atrium Gallery can be viewed during McLean Community Center operating hours. The Emerson Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The winter exhibitions are sponsored in part by the O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Foundation.