Var Gallery is excited to announce the twelfth iteration of the Plum Blossom Initiative (PBI) Bridge Work Exhibition featuring artists Isaac Shea Levin, Ellery Pascual, & Marta Tereziya.

 

Permeable Skin is a collection of interdisciplinary artworks that reflect each artist’s interpretation of fragile beliefs, systems, and an uncertain trust in what lies ahead. These works explore our ancestors' histories, our personal narratives, and examine the current state of the world.  

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Acknowledging history and the current state humans occupy in the present is something Isaac Shea Levin is inhabiting in his body of work. By indirectly pointing towards how black bodies were exploited, abused, and ripped apart in the medical field with unglazed clay sculptures and wide photographs, Levin overlays the history Americans are taught against the history he has inherited, his body carrying his ancestors' pain and obvious exhaustion. Ellery Pascual’s miniseries explores how the body reacts to the effects of systemic dehumanization in the present tense. Pascual combines ceramic and mixed-media paintings to illustrate the exhaustion of living paycheck to paycheck, highlighting the impact of societal systems on workers and emphasizing the fragility of individuality alongside the importance of community trust. As for Marta Tereziya’s installation, her thoughts revolve around displacement from her home country. The red follows the duality of existence, absence, and presence coexisting in the same realm. With the unoccupied cherry swing, held by red ribbon, and paintings that occupy untold lands, Tereziya invites the mind to enter a state of bliss and the possibility of what is more to come.

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Despite the diverse range of mediums used, these artworks come together with a cohesive sense of purity, leaving elements of the artworks unembellished, echoing themes of hope and the connections that bind us and propel us forward. Some pieces support others or are held with red ribbon, while others stand alone with a striking intensity. Ultimately, this series invites viewers to reflect on their own sense of hope, the fragility of time, and the promise of tomorrow.

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Plum Blossom Initiative (PBI), founded by Leah Kolb and Jason S. Yi, facilitates creative platforms that support artists’ practices and the community's culture. Plum Blossom Initiative’s Bridge Work Professional Development Program (a 10-month annual program since 2015) is a collaborative endeavor that provides three new art school graduates with opportunities to continue artistic momentum and transition into a sustainable professional studio practice. Recognizing the nuances of the contemporary art world, PBI focuses on guiding emerging artists through this uncertain terrain by broadening their professional experience and community engagement.

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Thanks to a partnership beginning in 2018 with Josh Hintz, owner and director of Var Gallery and Studios, BW-Milwaukee artists receive a free studio space for the duration of the program, along with Var’s artist-in-residence benefits, including access to a wood shop and kiln, free admission to events, the ability to participate in Var community exhibitions, and other perks. The annual BW-Milwaukee exhibition is presented at Var Gallery each fall.

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