Things that are now visible

 

 

 

 

 

Things that are now visible

Iris Bechtol, Natalie Macellaio, and Lesli Robertson

August 25 – October 2, 2014

Reception: August 29, 6:00 – 8:30 pm

"Things that are now visible" includes the works of three Dallas based artists, Iris Bechtol, Natalie Macellaio, and Lesli Robertson. Through a collection of mixed media sculptures, photographs, video, and installations, these artists have created works that respond to their personal environments, reflecting a new perspective on objects and everyday encounters.  In the production of this work, each artist is seeking a connection to authenticity through experience, collaboration, and contemplation of material importance that shift between invisibility and visibility. 

 
In conjunction with Things that are now visible Natalie Macellaio and Lesli Robertson will exhibit The Mother Load at the Dallas Museum of Art's Center for Creative Connections, opening September 19^th 2014 and going through March 30^th2015. Including many Dallas based artists, this collaboration engages with women from across the globe who lead the creative life of an artist while being a mother.

Iris Bechtol is an artist and curator living in Dallas. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia from the University of Texas at Arlington. As the Gallery Director of Eastfield College Galleries, Iris manages a large permanent art collection and curates exhibitions that align with the Eastfield College Department of Visual Arts mission.  She is co-curator of Temporary Occupants, a site referential exhibition at Eastfield College from 2010-2013 that included many local and national artists.  Iris was a member of 500X Gallery, Texas’ oldest artist run cooperative from 2001 -2005. Her work has been included in exhibitions in Texas, New York, San Diego, and Belgrade, Serbia.  Her research is rooted in the phenomenological approaches to resurrect and heighten experiential relationships to the everyday and the ordinary. 

 

Natalie Macellaio grew up in the Chicago area and moved to Texas to receive her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas in Jewelry and Metalsmithing. She is the Professor of Sculpture at Brookhaven Community College in Dallas, TX.  Natalie is an active member of the arts community in Dallas, TX and is currently exhibiting her work across the United States. Natalie’s work has been featured at 500X Gallery in Dallas, TX, Accident Gallery in Eureka, CA and Studio Gallery in Farmers Branch, TX. Recently she has been featured on Manufactured Design By… blog and is currently showing a new body of work at UNT on the Square Gallery. She is co-creator of “The Mother Load,” with Lesli Roberston, a collaboration started in 2012 that has become an international project and will be exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art in fall 2014. 

 

Lesli Robertson is an artist and professor of Fibers at the University of North Texas. Her collaborative projects in Uganda, Scotland, Slovenia, and Mexico, develop connections between diverse communities through international programs focused on art, community and the environment. Through this work, she curated an international exhibition titled Material Evolution: Ugandan Bark Cloth, and held internationally based workshops linking Texas and Ugandan students through art and education. Her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions and her research has been published in leading journals, including the Surface Design Journal, Start: A Journal of Arts and Culture in East Africa, and the book Ignite the Power of Art: Advancing Visitor Engagement in Museum Experiences, by Bonnie Pitman and Ellen Hirzy. Robertson has received grants from the Dallas Museum of Art, the Surface Design Association, the Textile Society of America, and a faculty fellowship with the UNT Institute for the Advancement of the Arts in support of her artwork and research. She and co-creator Natalie Macellaio continue to engage with a global collective of women through their project, The Mother Load.

 

Directions to Eastfield College:

From I-30 take Exit 54 toward Big Town Blvd. Take Big Town Blvd North which turns into La Prada. From La Prada take a right on Carol Brown Dr. Go right on Eastfield Parkway and park in the W3 parking lot (on your left). The H Gallery is located off the lower courtyard between the Fine Arts building (Bldg. “F”) and the Campus Center (Bldg. “C”) in H100.

 

Gallery hours are 9:00AM to 4:00PM Monday through Friday.