BEN OSBORNE

Drawing

Bodies act as powerful agents for the representation of identity. Especially in relation to sexual orientation, the influence of appearance and the physical nature of the human form take on major significance. A visceral quality dominates attraction; that intangible connection between people resonates for everyone. So, the importance of bodies takes shape. Whom are people attracted to, and how does that become realized? What signifiers define and mold those desires? My work reflects my personal experience of acceptance and exploration of sexuality. This understanding has been recent, so there is a certain distance between the subject matter and myself. However, I purposefully place myself in the work to enhance the meaning with personal experience.

The aesthetic qualities in my work echo my interest in introspection. Within reservation comes awareness and understanding. My current work attempts to validate the homoerotic with elements of confrontation.

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Photo: Terrie Doughnuts

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JOHN MORSE

Printmaking

Take a second to think about the significance of play. It’s huge! One of our first instincts as little humans is to play and the urge is still there when we grow old. Play, defined simply as fully engaging in an activity for it’s own sake rather than for an end goal, is a key factor in childhood, adolescent, and teenage development and deprivation of play can have serious consequences later in life. Play’s importance doesn’t end there, however. Play lights up the brain like no other activity, readying it for any number of potential mental acrobatics and provides a plethora of notable benefits for adults from treating depression, to formulating new ideas and tackling creative problem solving. So why is play so often stigmatized amongst adults? It certainly doesn’t help that opportunities to truly let loose and play are often few and far between in the day to day routine of the modern adult. So I invite you to take this time to play! These magnets are begging you to engage with them! Give them stories, arrange them as you’d like! All I ask is that you please leave them on the board for others to enjoy as well!

ELLIOT KEELEY

Metals, Ceramics

Elliot Keeley is an artist from North Carolina where he studied Metalsmithing and Art Administration. He is interested in humor, rhythm, intimacy, and the exploration of more sustainable artistic practice in the face of a seemingly profligate world.

MORGAN BENSHOFF

Drawing/Painting

The foundation of my art practice is curiosity.  The meaning of my paintings will change over time and with circumstance, but I continue to be fascinated by the alchemy of paint and water. Somehow, paintings become more than the sum of their parts, and this pulls me back to the paper or canvas again and again. My work can be understood as a record of a tactile experience, pulling the viewer close with a meditative surface, which slowly reveals a subtle and poetic wit. I like to think of the paintings as abstract, imminent objects rather than illusions. They allow perception to shift around and through them. Equilibrium between formal composition and intuitive touch allows the work to be affirming in its beauty, but also somehow silly, prompting the viewer to question its seriousness. Is this austere, elegant art or is this a joke? The paintings exist in a nebulous space between the two, which leads me to contemplate the nature of duality and the art of being two things at once.