Serious Play

Patchwork Castle by Alexandra Ackerman
15″x11″; watercolor, gouache, pencil, fabric on paper; 2020. Courtesy of the artist.

Alexandra Ackerman: Serious Play: a Dialogue with Color, Pattern, and Form

at the Memorial Union Gallery, Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, USA
21 August-29 September 2023

During the start of the pandemic, Alexandra Ackerman began cutting and gluing scraps of fabric onto wood and connecting them with painted shapes, a process she found to be calming and grounding during a time of extreme uncertainty. These explorations led to a body of work in which she uses color, pattern, and form to explore how relationships are disrupted when there’s a loss of physical connection. Visually, they are inspired by folk art, aboriginal art, patchwork quilts, the midwestern landscape, and abstract expressionism. Each of these works traces Ackerman’s journey in searching for a sense of harmony and order.

Ordinary Day in a Strange Time by Alexandra Ackerman
24″x18″; acrylic, fabric, paper collage on wood panel; 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

(text adapted from materials provided by the artist)


INFORMATION

Memorial Union Art Gallery
1560 Memorial Union
East SOS
Ames, Iowa 50014 USA
(515) 294-8081

Hours:
Monday-Friday, 11AM-4PM
Sunday, 1-4PM

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