Up Close with Artist Alison Owen

Thursday, August 26, 2010

ARTS by GoLocalProv Features Team

Most galleries would be hastening to sweep away the debris of installing an art exhibit, but at Brown University's Bell Gallery (in the List Art Center) and thanks to RI artist Alison Owen, quite the opposite is happening.

Owen has created a sprawling wallpaper installation in the lobby of the Bell entitled "Divisibility," which opens to the public on display this Saturday August 28 and remains up until October 31. Owen has used, literally, the dust, debris, and lint she has swept from the space to create her work. "Divisibility" is her first solo show in New England, and GoLocalProv caught up with her just days before her opening.

What's brought you here, to a work of this nature?

I started out as a painter, but in grad school the work started traveling off the surface of the painting and onto the wall around it. I became more interested in the particularities of each gallery space and wanted to make work that was a conversation with the space, rather than something that worked independently. I also like using

common or unlovely materials, and transforming them.

What does this show at the Bell Gallery mean to you, both personally and as an artist?

It has been wonderful working at the Bell Gallery because the curators and preparators are really supportive, and this has allowed me to complete an ambitious and complicated project. The space is full of grids of all sizes, and I love having the opportunity to incorporate this geometric element into my work.

You are gathering the detritus of the gallery and making art from it. Is this a form you've explored before? if not, what inspired this installation?

Yes, I have used this process in other installations. There is almost always an element of dust-patterning in my installations, overlaid onto a composition built of other

materials- thread, tape, paint, pedestals, etc.

This is a major installation for you. How does it feel?

It's great! I've been in the gallery for nearly two weeks and the installation is almost finished. There is an element of vulnerability in working site-specifically and on a deadline. Will it come together in time? Can I pull this off? So it's always a relief to get to the point where you know you'll make it.

Divisibility runs August 28-October 31, with an opening reception Friday September 10 from 5:30-7:30pm. The Bell Gallery, located inside List Art Center, 64 College St, is open to the public without charge Mon-Fri 11am-4pm, and Sat-Sun 1-4pm. For more information, call 863-2932.