Interdependence 2019

Award Winners:

OPENING NIGHT!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH, 6PM - 10PM
Riverside Art Center, 76 N. Huron, Ypsilanti, MI 48197

INTERDEPENDENCE is a visual art exhibition about the interconnectedness of life on this planet. We experience this in so many ways every day that it can be difficult to step back and actually see how all things are connected. The artists in this exhibition illustrate this concept in a variety of media.

GALLERY HOURS: Thursdays & Fridays 3p-8p, Saturdays Noon-5p. Last day is Friday, September 27th.

Works of art:

{Support living artists. To purchase any of these works of art email us at: info.aahfi @ gmail.com}

The Fastidious Ones, Jean-Paul Aboudib
Oil on Panel, 36"w x 48"h x 2"d, $1,500
Pennies for Thoughts, Jean-Paul Aboudib
Oil on Canvas, 30"w x 40"h x 1.5"d, $1,100
My work embarks on the intricacies of human interaction. My artistic expression is a culmination of my entanglement with other human beings as it pertains to emotive experiences. I am interested in the emergent properties of gestures, subtle facial expressions and bodily posturing, among other social symbolism, as an impetus for my subject matter.
For as long as I can remember, I have had a gravitational attraction to the human form. Its seductive curvature and intrinsic expression is one of the earliest forms of communicating ideas, emotions and even language. I feel this inherently synergistic connection between the observer and the observed is the most transcendental entanglement human beings can experience. This notion is the catalyst for my creative process. In my current work, I’m searching to find an earnest testimony of exploration through the fleeting glimpses of the figure’s truest revelatory moments of essence and awareness. I strive to be an artist of intent and purpose. I employ expressive gestures and a vivacious color palette in my paintings which embody a sense of unvarnished human emotions as a reflection of my personal understanding of the figure.

Neighborhood Art, Sylvia Bandyke
Photography, 12"w x 12"h x 1"d, NFS
Typically keep an eye open for interesting reflections, light patterns, views of a subject while trying to find hidden beauty in everyday life. I like using the collage format to integrate associated images into a cohesive unit that is more compelling due to the embedded story. Displayed in Grand Rapids, MI ArtPrize event in ‘14–‘18. As a member of Artists’ Society of Dearborn (MI), exhibited in juried ASD Spring ‘18/‘19 Shows (won 1st in photography in '19). Also displayed in 23rd/24th (‘18/‘19) Annual Juried Photography Exhibitions of the Dearborn Community Arts Council, Muskegon Museum of Art’s 90th (‘18) Regional Exhibition, 21st (‘18) Livonia Exhibition of Fine Arts & Detroit Scarab Club '19 Gilda Snowden Memorial Exhibition. Nationally was included in '18 Be There/Be Square exhibit at the Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA and in current Linus Galleries (CA) Fragmented Abstract Art and Blur Exhibits & Fifth Annual iPhonography Now Exhibit of Plymouth Center for the Arts (MA).

Codependence: Life & Death, Pat Ducat Bogusz
Collage, 14"w x 18"h, $175
Interdependence permeates every aspect of human life - from our reliance on one another, on ideas or concepts, or external influences. For the past six months I have been dealing with life and death issues facing my mother, which significantly influenced my creative process. Life and death are in a constant circle of interdependence. Ideas are birthed, developed and give way or fade away to manufacturing, environment, etc. Every image in this work is intended to have the viewer think about this recurring cycle.

Third iPhone, Zoe Beaudry
Oil on Canvas, 36"w x 24"h x 1.5"d, $2,200
A Picture of the Future, Zoe Beaudry
Oil on Canvas, 12"w x 12"h x 1.5"d, $850
In 2019, to be informed about the world is to be inundated with frightening information. In our learning, it often feels like we must choose between pain or cognitive dissonance. Inspired by George Orwell's haunting vision of the future in 1984, my recent work was created with the intention to serve as a balm for future fear, to present an alternate vision of what is to come, wherein the "boot" of authority and the march of cultural domination is dissolved by the other qualities that make us human; empathy, kindness, and coming together.
My painting practice examines the dissolution of personal identity through contemporary disturbances to the boundaries of the self. Taking inspiration from bodily transformation, spiritual experience, and the increasingly ubiquitous use of online avatars, my work interrogates what human beings are made of in the twenty-first century. We are at a historical moment when the future frequently appears as a precipice verging on dystopia, as technology and interaction with corporations become an increasingly essential extension of our biological existence and the "self" becomes an increasingly fluid concept.
Magnifying the often politicized boundaries between life and non-life, I work with materials that are embedded in history and encoded with a wide range of cultural resonances: sacred and profane, east and west, ancient and contemporary.

The Strength of Beauty and Wisdom, Cheryl Chidester
Mixed-Media, 15.25"w x 17.25"h x 1"d, $350
In many ancient cultures, the oak tree is an important symbol representing strength, morale, resistance and knowledge. ... Oak is often associated with honor, nobility, and wisdom and it was believed that an Oak Tree has a soul and represents life itself. The circle of Celtic knots symbolizes the interconnection of life and eternity and the jewel-like shapes represent the preciousness of it all.
This mixed media artwork was created to invoke a sense of timelessness. Layers of powdered charcoal and copper, natural fabric dyes, inks and encaustic media on handmade watercolor paper were used to create that effect. The art is float-mounted on a suede board and framed in a vintage gold frame. The addition of patina medallions from the Church of San Michele evokes a sense of significance.
My art is inspired by the beauty of nature, and the fleeting moments it presents, by my travels and cultural experiences and by my love of history. These themes are often interconnected in my art and in our world. While places, and people and their culture, offer unique perspectives and experiences, there are universal ideals and shared history, knowledge and spirit that transcends time and place. We need to be aware of the significance of our connections and the realization of interdependence of others, our communities and the natural environment, and how fragile and precious they are. We can choose how we impact the world around us and what sort of legacy we leave behind and future we pave for those that follow.

Love Me Tender, Winnie Chrzanowski
Photography, 12"w x 12"h, $250
Photography is a way for me to see the world with new eyes. I enjoy taking photos and then seeing how to make a mundane subject look not so ordinary. I try to find different perspectives and vantage points while making an image. What I truly love to do is shoot an image with a painting in mind even though I’m not a painter. How do the colors move through the landscape? Should I have a more intimate and close up view? Will the image look better in color or black and white? How can it tell the story of the moment in the most precise manner? Those are my questions to myself as I set out to shoot. I'm thinking about how it will look in the camera and then how it will look when I put it into post processing. While I try to make the best composition I can possibly make in camera, I usually feel I can make that image speak more distinctly and maybe even a bit louder with post processing.

Sound of Trees, Youyun Chung
Acrylic/Paper Collage, 40"w x 30"h, $3,000
We are all interconnected not just in online inter-space but also in real, natural circumstances. We are all living in a same planet. Everything in this planet is interconnected and interdependent each other with invisible energy.
Therefore I take environments-the real space we live in and actual objects around us seriously. And I want to show inherent, invisible energy behind them by visualizing it on my art works.
My art works shows process of formation and relationship of visible world and invisible world which is energy that actually makes world interconnected. I hope my art works can be interconnected with viewers by communication each other.
The natural world consists of energy, which I can feel whenever I immerse myself in it. Life is a continuity of ongoing moments overlapped by time and space. So every moment of life is unique and special, alive and breathing with invisible energy in it.
My artworks are pieces showing the progression of response to the inherent, invisible energy behind all of the nature and objects in the reality by showing their vitality and feeling through visual artistic elements.
The nature and objects we see in mundane places inspire me because they contain their abundant energy and history within them.
Each piece of my work captures each moment which contains the consciousness and energy. It is driven to abstract form or representational form, sometimes connected with actual objects to show the relationship of object and consciousness.

But not Forgotten, Alayna Coverly
Oil, 40"w x 30"h, $NFS
The need for independence has always been a constant in life, especially while exploring myself through painting. My piece, But Not Forgotten, was made while working out the relationships within my family. It specifically explored the idea that while I felt proud to be on my own, I still relied on my family, and they relied on me. Through everything, they are embedded in my life.
My work explores the absence and presence of the emotional bonds we share with others. I use fabric to represent these intimate attachments because they display a connection and disconnection, or a push and pull. I often use fabric to create a layer of comfort and protection while relating to the home. This domesticity is displayed through the patterns used to engulf the figure. The consumption of the figure by the fabric relates back to the figure being hidden, while simultaneously holding a presence. Through my work I show the complexity of intimate attachments, the give and take needed to cultivate relationships.

Hope Without the Utopian Promise, Casey Dressell
House Paint on Canvas, 31"w x 36"h x 1"d, $800
This work was made outdoors and lived within the natural environment and its elements. The sun, rain and insects for example became embedded within the surface and fibers of this series.
My work is a response to chaotic transitions of life and the resulting response to change, movement, adaptation, and a reconnection back to nature. Inherently nomadic and exploratory, it is a celebration of human intuitive inventiveness, individual expression, and freedom.

Ace Hardware, Nancy Flanagan
Oil on Canvas, 44"w x 38"h, $3,500
Red Hotel, Nancy Flanagan
Oil on Canvas, 40"w x 24"h x 2"d, $3,000
Art provides a guide for understanding city lives, our own lives.
Conventional Urban Planning privileges the Social Sciences, quantifiable data. Art can represent what we experience of city lives, our own lives. It records our responses, what we feel, wish for, fear, desire, and dream.
That is the frame of my work about Ypsilanti.
Place is an enduring part of everyone’s experience on an intuitive, even cellular level. Verbal articulation often renders it discarnate, but visual representation is another matter.
I observe the intersections of components in a space, how they illuminate the passage of time.
When I moved here from New England, Ypsilanti seemed exotic. I was intrigued by the space, the culture, and the history. I placed myself in the city, painting, in order to figure it out. I search for compelling locations; I read intersections that feel significant.and integrate them into the painting.
Certain locations illuminate the trajectory of a culture over time. Evidence of origin, that recalls the past, and that points to the future.
I find an enormous amount of evidence of change over time in the backs of commercial buildings. Information embedded in the components: architecture, utilities, adaptations to changing conditions.

Shapes and Textures of Nature, Linda Klenczar
Soft Pastel, 24"w x 28"h x 2"d, $575
In the beauty of nature, Interdependence is always present. In this stream, with fallen trees, new life appears growing from what has come down, and perished. All of nature is Interdependent
Textures and Patterns of Nature, is a pastel showing the interdependence of the small and basic life forms we have. As trees come to the end of their life, they decay and fall to the forest floor, in a simple stream, and they provide the base for new life to grow. Everything is connected. All are needed in their own way. The beauty of nature. All nature.

The Cooperative Pursuit of Enlightenment, Robert Landry
Bronze, 21"w x 13"h x 2"d, $18,000
The Cooperative Pursuit Of Enlightenment: Notice that the structure in the bas relief is pyramidal suggesting the pursuit of higher levels of understanding, and that all the participants are working (as they need to work) together to proceed with regard to this pursuit.
It is obvious that reality, at its gross physical level is based on competition, which pits all beings against one another, but if we look closer, it is also obvious that nothing can exist on its own. This is based on interdependency. Consequently, there is a choice to be made as to which perspective will serve us best. Where the former selfishly honors only the self (as in me and mine), the latter selflessly considers what is best for everyone. To contribute to the latter is to join the enlightened who transcend this duality in the pursuit of a more egalitarian existence, via an altruistic mindset.
Personally, I have discovered that to expresses to this effect, contributes to the latter. Hence, I consciously choose to compose form the perspective of interdependency.
Note that I compose creatively for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Moss-Covered Shingle, Martha Liddle-Lameti
Felted Wool & Fiber, 3@ 12"w x 12"h x 2"d, $1,500
Sign Post in Kyoto, Martha Liddle-Lameti
Felted Wool & Fiber, 28"w x 17.5"h x 2"d, $850
Moss-covered Shingles was inspired by the roof of a time-worn building. The moss gleaned in the sunlight, creating beauty that wasn’t there when the building was new.
Signposts in Kyoto was the result of mixing fibers to re-create the beauty of age. While walking through the streets in Kyoto, Japan, I came across a decrepit sign. The back of the sign was what interested me the most.
The tactile, olfactory and visual stimulation of working with fibers, lends itself well to the inspiration I find in nature. The Japanese call it wabi sabi - looking at what might be considered mundane, (or even, at times aged or ugly) in a new and divergent manner - glorifying and highlighting what others may overlook in their daily lives.
I find that nature can overcome man by taking over and enhancing structures ( if allowed to do so) creating what may be considered a symbiotic relationship in order to design something even more beautiful.
I am challenged to see this beauty and showcase it in my work so that others might become more aware of their own surroundings and of how nature-in all her glory-gifts us with splendor at every turn.

Opening My Heart to Spring, Jeri Love
Photography, 18.75"w x 25.75" x 2"h, $350
As a tree photographer, it is the mission of my work to help people truly see trees by focusing on their anthropomorphic or pareidolia characteristics . Trees are nature’s great connectors, providing what is needed to sustain life on the planet—air to breathe, food to eat, filtration for water, and the homes in which we live. Researchers also are continuously discovering the role they play in healing. Despite their beneficent, compassionate and life-sustaining nature, we still see them as “other,” and ignore the critical and essential role they play in our lives.Seeing trees allows us also to see ourselves and acknowledge with gratitude our interconnection and interdependence.
This work is part of an ongoing environmental art-community engagement project, The Beauty & Wonder of Trees, which was established in 2013. The project promotes and fosters neighborhood tree stewardship through art and is geared toward children and youth in grades K-8, as well as their grown-ups. The goal of the work is to help viewers see and understand our interconnection and interdependent relationship with nature's largest and most beneficent plant. Images from this project have won awards; have been exhibited at Chicago's Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum; and have been included in exhibitions across the United States in California, Colorado, Illinois and Michigan. Two images are included in the book Up Close and Personal, as part of an exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont.

Operation: Exit-US, Brenda Monroe
Acrylic/Paper Collage, 24"w x 12"h x .5"d, $105
The subject matter and imagery looks at the relationship between ecology and astronomy. It explores the concepts of the “world” getting smaller, climate change becoming more extreme, andthe likelihood of our planet becoming increasingly hostile to our species.
The world is getting smaller, but the population is increasing. The world is getting smaller, but our sun will grow bigger. Climate change is real, but as the sun grows larger, it will consume the inner planets of our Solar System. We must preserve our Earth for as long as we can, but someday we will need to leave in order for our species to survive. Operation: Exit-Us.

A Little Help From My Friends, Rehlin
Collage, 16"w x 16"h $400
I am an artist that likes to have fun with my art. I like to uses all different media forms to achieve a unique look for each of my art pieces. I am inspired by the world and nature its self, I create imagery and sensations of joy, color, movement and harmony. My work has been described as imaginative, playful and filled with energy and hope. Preferring to deliver a positive emotion I let the experience of creating guide me. I try to become one with the art piece by being technically, intellectually and spiritually inspired by using various media and materials to help create a dialog with the viewer.

Summer Sky, Jim Rehlin
Acrylic, 34"w x 30"h x .75"d, $875
When I look around me I see amazing examples that nature provides us, which depict the interdependence of all living things. My artwork is my attempt to capture the energy of these transient moments in time, to celebrate this beauty and the gift of our being connected to all of it.
My style is influenced by the light studies of the Impressionists, the pointillism of Seurat, and the brushwork of Van Gogh. Driven by abstract expressionism to move beyond purely representational images — to capture the underlying spirit and vitality of the subject matter — my approach has evolved into my energy style. I build intricate layers into my paintings and drawings that are more apparent with each viewing. My inspiration comes mainly from nature and the people and animals around me.

Boundaries, Kate Snow
Interactive Art, 34"w x 24"h, $NFS
While global reach has innumerable benefits, one of the unintended consequences is the increased feeling of isolation: when we live everywhere, our home is nowhere. However we define them, communities group us, ground us, and provide us with a sense of security and identity. This piece examines not only the physical communities we inhabit, but also the seemingly disparate communities of fine art and digital media by providing a platform for engagement and interaction. Through the incorporation of digital media, this piece also calls in to question the role of space and physical proximity with regard to community, how we view ourselves within that context, and whether shared experience facilitates that connection in a meaningful way.
Link to my website with more information http://katesnow.work/grid-series-communities/

Calm Up Clam Down, Brian Spolans
Acrylic/Watercolor on Paper, 20"w x 28"h x 1"d, $1,200
Just Breath, Brian Spolans
Acrylic/Watercolor on Paper, 24"w x 36"h x 1"d, $1,200
I am an artist and instructor based in Southeast Michigan. My work has been exhibited at 500X Gallery in Dallas, Gallery Aferro in New Jersey, Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Arts Gallery in New Orleans, International Print Center of New York, and Published in New American Paintings and Fresh Paint Magazine. I have co-curated the exhibition “Post Apocalypse” at Gallery Project in Ann Arbor, and “Non-Text,” at Eastern Michigan University where I teach printmaking.
I have a tendency to focus on unresolved subjects. Subjects that either never can be resolved or can be disassembled and recombined in perpetuity. In this way, my images act as a description of the discourse and confusion on my life, experiences, and preferences.

Herbal Remedies, Brenda Steller
Batik on Cotton, 31.5"w x 29h", $220
Field and Forest, Brenda Steller
Batik on Cotton, 19.25"w x 15.5"h, $145
The pieces are ready to hang with a scroll style. When displayed in a way that allows the light in, like on a window, the colors and illustration are illuminated and emphasized.
Batik is medium I love to work in because it feels very natural and is an ancient practice that connects me to people from generations before. I work with locally sourced beeswax and apply fiber reactive dye on upcycled cotton. The pieces illustrate ingredients used in folk medicine and pollinators using these sources to sustain them. Science knows of our interdependence with pollinators for our own agriculture. Our efforts to preserve pollinators also aid our society's survival. Folk medicine is a foundation of our modern medicine practices that are created in a lab. Our modern healing practices are contingent upon our ancestors wisdom. Healing and quality of life was and can still be found in nature. We would do well to remember and not dismiss the interconnectedness that wise people, midwives and healers in the past could easily participate in through shared wisdom. Common herbs, flowers, and plants like the ones illustrated in my pieces could help heal and provide quality of life.

Dramatic Sky, Karyn Stetz
Photography on Aluminum, 40"w x 20"h x 1.5"d, $750
I am an interdisciplinary artist that works in Photography, Painting, Graphic Design, Installation, and whatever else inspires me or diverts me during the artistic process.
Lately, I have been doing a lot of digital collage work and this particular pure photograph has been incorporated into several of my digital works in various forms and abstractions. This photograph was taken during a hiking trip to Moab, Utah after a grueling summer work schedule. The purity of the landscape over several days furnished me with hundreds of images, but this is one of my favorites. The contrast of the landform against the plain and the blue sky on the left versus the storm rolling in on the right speaks to me about the cycles of nature and life. We can try to fight or hide from things that are unpleasant, but there is beauty somewhere in all of it and if we relax into it we will enjoy the process and education of life.

For Good Earth, Mino Watanabe
Acrylic & Ink Pen, 19"w x 14"h x .25"d, $300
In this piece I wanted to highlight the role of fungi and insects and how they help to complete the circle of life; turning things into good soil. This cycle has been going on since the beginning of the earth!
I create my art for hope, often with a bit of humor. When I was a child, I loved the imaginative illustrations found in children's books, which often served as my educational texts. Therefore, I consider myself to be an artist with a background in illustration. My favorite mediums are acrylic, watercolor and ink. I love animals and nature. I have two studio / living room cats who are both my inspiration and critics.

Parity and Disparity, Ellen Wilt
Collage, 22.5"w x 22"h x .5"d, $400
This art work deals with current conditions in the World. Parity and Disparity: "We all come from same mold."

Earthrise and Liferise 2, Robin Wilt
Collage, 48"w x 40"h x .5"d, $1,500
The Earth and Life are one and the same - all connected.
The summer of 2019 saw the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing.
It reminded me of the iconic photos taken by the Apollo Missions of our Earth from space.
A lone "Blue Marble" is nestled in a black void all around it.
The Earth is Us.
We are the Earth.
As of now, it is the only one like it in the universe.
We must cherish it.