The pandemic has made Mary Witt, of Northampton, a more creative artist: She has had more time than usual to experiment with new materials and techniques, bringing out other dimensions and themes in her art.
She will be showing about a dozen 48- by 36-inch pieces in “Pivot,” a May art exhibit at Oxbow Gallery in Northampton, with Brianna Ashe.
All of Witt’s works in the show were created during the pandemic; most of Ashe’s works were created at her kitchen table in East Hampton, New York, last summer.
Ashe plans to enter prints, woodblocks, prints on paper and ink drawings on paper. All will be for sale.
Her artwork is colorful and textured with a lot of movement; Ashe will be exhibiting her black and white work. They anticipate alternating pieces in the show, but the final decision of layout will take place in early May.
According to Ashe, this exhibit was supposed to have been in April 2020 but was delayed because of the pandemic. “And for everyone, life has dramatically changed since then,” she said, noting that during quarantine she reflected on life, her work, her job, her relationships and where she lives. “I made some big changes, that likely wouldn’t have happened if not for the pandemic. This time for everyone will always stick out. I believe it has deeply changed us.”
Thus the name “Pivot” seemed for her like a natural and almost obvious title for this show.
Pivot is defined as rotate, turn, revolve, spin, swivel. Witt often has pivoted in the last year to question issues of the pandemic, violence, civil rights, voting, chaos, the environment and other social justice issues. Some of her art is a reaction to these causes: “Social Closeness,” for example, is a reaction to the pandemic term “social distancing,” which sounded sad to her when she first heard it used. “Sanctuary” addresses the need for safe places for immigrants, houseless and other marginalized populations. “When Worlds Collide” looks at violence and unrest in this country.
For Ashe, the challenges of working on her art during the pandemic often outweighed the joys: She had difficulty staying focused and not having a daily schedule. “I am better when I am busy. The challenge was staying motivated and making myself treat art making as if it were my job,” she said. “The joys were making work that felt unexpected and different from previous recent works.”
Time during the pandemic gave her “more brain space” to work on other creative outlets. “Without a doubt this will impact my art,” she said. “The time at home gave me a chance to explore gardening, cooking meals more outside of my norm and thinking about new mediums and where I’d like to go next.”
Ashe grew up in East Longmeadow and graduated in 2013 from the University of Massachusetts with a major in printmaking and minor in ceramics. She has worked as a house parent and art teacher at a private school on Long Island and has managed projects and worked in a studio with a ceramic and installation artist. She takes freelance jobs installing art and cataloguing artist estates and ran a monthly club called “Drink and Draw” in Wainscott, New York.
Witt was raised by German parents and was exposed to various forms of art, especially abstract work. Painting since 1993, she enjoys creating her pieces full of color and depth and texture, mostly with a palette knife, adding numerous layers to create mysterious environments.
Witt and Ashe will be showing their art together at Oxbow Gallery from May 6-30.
Oxbow Gallery, located at 273 Pleasant St., is open to the public Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5 pm. There will be an opening reception on May 8, from 3 to 5 p.m.
For more information call 413-586-6300.
Learn more about Witt at mewitt.wixsite.com/marywittpainter.
Information about Ashe is available at bmashe.com.
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April 21, 2021 at 11:17PM
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‘Pivot’ exhibit reflects more experimental side, artist says - MassLive.com
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