‘Natural Consequences’ Art Exhibit Focuses on Nature
Monday, March 6, 2006

Reported by Ban Evans, ’08; photos by Morris Arvoy

"Euonymus Frost" by Lauren Eisen "Portable Reference Library" by Jenny Nellis "Fallingwater" by Lauren Eisen "Child Run Over" by Kaethe Kollwitz (small gallery)

Albion, Mich. —  In honor of Women’s History Month, the Elsie Munro Gallery at Albion College’s Bobbitt Visual Arts Center now features the works of Lauren Eisen and Jennifred Nellis, whose celebrations of nature are portrayed using an array of fascinating media. The exhibit, entitled Natural Consequences, will run through March 25, although it will be closed March 11-19 for the College's spring break.

Eisen’s multimedia portraits of plant life depict the upward movement of botanical growth by focusing the scope on close views of branches or stalks. Her tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is one of the exhibition’s two major standouts, displaying the perfect coexistence between Eisen’s use of geometric spaces and organic patterns.

Taking a different approach is Nellis, who currently is serving as Albion College artist-in-residence. Nellis’ work divides into several parts. First is a series entitled The New Biology, a collection of framed and wall-mounted mixed-media collages with topics ranging from entomology to human reproduction. The New Biology combines common biological images into what appear to be textbook pages, each one displaying a twist that defies conventional notions of that subject.

Also on display is Portable Reference Library, a series of small books which can be handled and paged through by the viewer. Each book focuses on a nature topic. Flower Parts is one of several sets of “tools,” many modeled after the anatomical parts of plants. Likewise, the centerpiece Flower Sepal is a giant basswood reproduction of the floral organ, simultaneously familiar and unique.

In the smaller Bobbitt gallery is an exhibit entitled "Voicing Our Visions: Images by Women," featuring works from the Albion College collection.

The exhibitions are free and open to the public Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Friday hours are 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.; Saturday, hours are 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The gallery will be closed from Saturday, March 11, through Sunday, March 19. For more information, email the Art and Art History department or call (517) 629-0246.

More Women's History Month programming can be found here.

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