Space is the Place invites two artists working in the field of installation to create new works responding to Carroll Square Gallery’s architecture and environment. Mariah Anne Johnson and John Watson negotiated the use and allocation of the gallery space for their individual projects. Each artist’s characteristic mode of operation is evidenced in his or her use of the space. Johnson’s folded fabrics grow in undulating forms along the wall. Watson’s construction builds from the floor into a complex labyrinth of reclaimed wood. Together their works create a charged environment for visitors to view and experience.
Space is the place for action: thinking and making. Making an installation is coming to know a space. I make work to understand a space with my body, to convert space into place. I find myself inside the work, surrounded by folds and marks, color and pattern. My artworks are deeply rooted in their sites because they reflect my direct experience of the concrete world around me.
–Mariah Anne Johnson
Space is the place, a cosmological double entendre, on the one hand conjures up thoughts of vastness while simultaneously grounding us to particular places and spaces. I am interested in the latter, and through my work attempt to define existing spaces and to create entirely new ones. Through installation, I attempt to engage the spaces of our built environment. Piercing walls, connecting floor with ceiling, and crossing voids, my installations depend on, and become a part of, the space they occupy.
–John Watson
This exhibition is sponsored by Akridge in collaboration with HEMPHILL