The exhibition “Passing Strange: New Work by Adria Arch” will be on view January 12–30, 2015, at Mary Baldwin University’s Hunt Gallery. Arch lives and works in Arlington, Massachusetts, where she is a mixed-media artist whose work features strong graphic elements and vivid color. She combines an abiding interest in shape with a fascination in unpredictable or unexpected sources such as doodles or paint spills.
Her recent efforts in site-specific, collaborative murals may be viewed at Stonehill College, Lesley University’s Porter Square building in Cambridge, MA, and Danforth Art in Framingham, MA. Arch is also a technical consultant for GOLDEN Artist Colors. She teaches privately and at local museums and art centers.
Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited throughout New England and nationally at a variety of venues, including Bromfield Gallery (Boston, MA), Danforth Museum of Art (MA), The Art Complex Museum (Duxbury, MA), Joseph Gross Gallery (Tucson, AZ), Helen Day Art Center (Stowe, VT), and the Long Island Beach Foundation for the Arts and Sciences (New Jersey). Arch’s work is in numerous public, corporate, and private collections, including the Boston Public Library, the Library of Congress Collection of Prints, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Interested in the creative possibilities of working randomly and with chance, Arch says the following about the work in this exhibition: “I look at the edges of things: the eccentric and unpredictable shapes found in unexpected places such as the puddles and pools of spilled paint and the overlooked doodle found in the margins of a notebook, or the swooping lines of tar patches on asphalt after a hard winter … I begin each piece by pouring and pooling paint onto thin plastic, allowing the colors to disperse and blend naturally. When the puddles dry, I cut out the most interesting shapes. These forms become central to my work and I respond to them with additional painting and collage. A narrative is suggested but not pinned down.”
A closing reception will be held for the artist from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on January 28 in Hunt Gallery. The public is invited to attend. Hunt Gallery is dedicated to the exhibition of contemporary work in all media by regionally and nationally recognized artists. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the college’s academic year. Hunt Gallery’s schedule for the 2014–15 academic year can be found online.