Sponsored by:
Chuck and Robbie Breaux
October 1 – November 14
First Friday reception October 2, 6:30-9pm

A recent graduate of Colorado Mesa University, Jade O’Day traffics in found objects, paint and sculpture to create work that is at once 2D and 3D. Her assemblages can result in an unexpectedly personal experience for the viewer. O’Day is building an installation for the Art Center’s Atrium gallery. For this solo exhibition her focus is on soft objects and how they allow themselves to be manipulated by hand. Most of us are familiar with the physical nature of these materials in day-to-day life, the way a blanket drapes over a couch, or how a pillow folds under pressure. Though they are inanimate objects they have the ability to emit energy and emotion. O’Day derives inspiration from the materials she uses, primarily the objects that she finds in thrift stores. “The object always inspires the piece;” she says, “it tells me what it wants to be in its next life, and I try to make that happen. The physical act of hoarding and the psychology behind it also influences my work, how objects can be used to create an artificial womb to protect and comfort those affected by it.” With implications surrounding nostalgia and consumer culture, In a Ditch Somewhere will tug at your heartstrings just as it challenges your thinking.

Image: Jade O’Day, Why They Left