About the Exhibition
The Sarah Spurgeon Gallery will host The Woods, a mixed-media installation by CWU alumni and PUNCH Projects members Renee Adams, Howard Barlow, Justin Colt Beckman, and Justin Gibbens, with artwork by past PUNCH Gallery artists Bill Finger, Carolyn Hopkins, Dylan Neuwirth, and Eugene Parnell. The opening events will take place on Thursday, January 11, beginning with a lecture by PUNCH Projects at 4:00 p.m. in Randall Hall, room 117. The lecture will be followed by a reception in the gallery from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
For many, solace is found in nature. Lush and verdant forests offer a place of retreat and reflection. By contrast, the woods represent a wilderness experience of another sort: a wild and shadowy place where both the boogieman and the big, bad wolf reside. This exhibition explores the curious territory between reality and the supernatural, between the primal and the paranormal. It is in the woods where our deepest fears and unmitigated imagination collide.
From its 10-year history as a gallery in Seattle, to its current initiative as a rural arts collective, PUNCH has worked to promote visual dialogue between urban and rural art communities. In their ongoing effort to promote artwork that is thoughtful, fresh and contemporary coupled with their desire to further bridge urban rural connections, PUNCH Projects seeks to support the cultural vibrancy of rural art scenes by spurring creative awareness, cross-cultural engagement, and economic vitality.
The Woods will remain on display through February 4. Sarah Spurgeon Gallery is located in Randall Hall on Dean Nicholson Boulevard and is open weekdays 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and on weekends, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The gallery will be closed on January 15 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Admission is free.
Media Contact: Heather Horn Johnson, Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, 509-963-2665, heather.johnson@cwu.edu
Image Captions: Bill Finger, Devil’s Tramping Ground, 2004, Digital pigment print, 30 in. x 40 in.
