Ithaca College

IT IS WHAT IT IS: J. Michael Lowe
PHASE OF THE DEVOUT: Austin Ballard

The Handwerker Gallery will be hosting the opening reception for a two-person show with works by sculptors J. Michael Lowe and Austin Ballard on
Thursday, October 25, from 5.00-7.00 p.m..

It Is What It Is provokes a conversation on materiality, forging an intimate knowledge of the relationship between a maker and their craft.  This comprehensive selection of J. Michael Lowe's work allows us to learn about what has been a life-long process of perfecting a craft through exploration, be it by trying new way to torque a copper sheet, a strategic reworking of a composition, or an experimentation in unfamiliar materials or textures.

Phase of the Devout juxtaposes familiar and unknown materials into structures balancing on the cusp of solidity and fragility.  This precarious relationship staged by each of Austin Ballard's sculptures disrupts the usual dialogue between audience and art, the voyeuristic tension overshadowed by that between the parts of the whole.  Ballard's practice is choreographic, setting up abstract microstructures on the brink of collapse/control suggesting a more emotional and psychological origin that leaves us wondering.

All Handwerker Gallery events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.; Thursday, 10.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.; and weekends, noon to 5.00 p.m.. The gallery is closed to the public on Tuesdays unless otherwise specified for an event but can accommodate group or class visits by appointment.

For further information or individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations contact Mara Baldwin at mbaldwin@ithaca.edu or 607.274.3548. Please make requests for accommodations as far in advance as possible.