In a series of twelve drawings, artist Melissa Thorne pairs representational barn images with abstract patterns derived from Shaker chair weaving. Emphasizing the apertures in the barn interior, she renders colored light to reference altered perception, as well as the Shaker history of direct mystical vision. Using a color palette derived from local wildflowers, she makes a connection between two methods of drawing, and two types of repetitive labor – agricultural and textile – and proposes a metaphoric reading of both interiority and illumination.
Continuing the reference to colored light as sacred, metaphysical, or otherworldly, the artist has also created three site-specific stained-glass windows. Building on the pattern language of the drawings, the windows use a selection of glass colors that refer to the land and plants experienced by Hancock Shakers; apple blossoms, milkweed, and goldenrod. While the drawings exist as finished representations, the windows filter exterior light and respond to changing conditions, actively casting their colored impression on the interior space.
Exhibit open: September 8 – 25 (*closed September 26 – 30), and October 1 – November 30, 2024
