Sara Catapano and Hannah Pierce: Ephemeral

From March 6th through April 6th, BoxHeart Gallery presents Sara Catapano and Hannah Pierce: Ephemeral, their Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Thesis Exhibition and a National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) CrossCurrents Exhibition. Organized by Nicole Capozzi, Director of BoxHeart Gallery, Sara Catapano and Hannah Pierce: Ephemeral explores narratives relating to the industrialization of our environment and its effect on living organisms, ranging from micro entities to humanity.  In relation to the NCECA theme, CrossCurrents: Clay and Culture, this exhibition utilizes clay as the primary medium to discuss cultural issues in our over industrialized, materialistic, yet intriguingly beautiful dystopia. In calling attention to our self-induced condition, the artwork exhibited in Ephemeral invites the viewer to question their influence on both natural environments and urban environments. Ephemeral is not only a culmination of artwork created by Catapano and Pierce, but also the final Thesis show of their Graduate careers at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Catapano and Pierce feel obligated to document this concurrent dissidence. Along with dashes of other mixed media materials, the simultaneous strength, fragility, and malleability of clay allows two very different artists to interpret and discuss similar issues in a variety of opposing ways while still relating to one another.

Catapano’s artwork employs abstracted forms that represent nature’s reaction to the disregard man has placed on the environment. Her forms flow over, pierce through, and respond to a cold, minimal reality, representing human kind’s influence on the earth. Her artwork brings to life an imagined hybrid of micro and macro organisms referencing the anatomical and parasitic residents of our natural world as a metaphor for the thoughts and feelings of the human condition. On the other side of the spectrum, Pierce uses deceptive, illustrative qualities in order to create metaphors and visual dialogues. The painted figure cut outs heavily contrast with the fully sculpted man-made objects and architectural configurations. The fragile appearance of these figures reflects the impermanence of people in relation to their more permanent industrial settings. Whether supported by one another or supported by man-made structures, the narrative reflects peoples’ undying dependence on community and structure.

Reception with the Artists

Sara Catapano and Hannah Pierce: Ephemeral will be on exhibit from March 6th through April 6th in BoxHeart’s main + 2nd floor Galleries. The exhibition coincides with the 52nd Annual Conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), which takes place in Pittsburgh from March 14th through 17th, 2018. The reception with the artists will be held Thursday, March 15th from 5-9pm. As a NCECA CrossCurrents Exhibition, the reception with the artists is part of NCECA’s bus tour and shuttle schedule that will run on Thursday evening. The reception with the artists is free and open to the public.