Feature Articles


January Issue 2002

Black Mountain Center for the Arts in Black Mountain, NC, Features Works by Joyce Blunk

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts in Black Mountain, NC, will present an exhibition entitled, Out of the Ordinary: Assemblage, featuring works by Joyce Blunk. The exhibition will be on view from Jan. 7 - 30, 2002.

The theme repeated throughout Blunk's work is the abstract enshrining of objects that symbolize poignant human preoccupations and vivid life issues. Natural or man-made items are arranged in wooden boxes or, very recently, on display platforms, in ways that experiment with space and exploit the symbolic meaning of the objects and their presentation. She begins with a display piece that is interesting to her, and after working through ideas with sketches, builds a box or ledge to transform that central object and expand its symbolism.

An idea that has interested the artist for some time is the projection of pathos from the work: "Perhaps the pathos arises partly from the sequestering of the central object in a setting of serenity and beauty; partly from the patina and surface buildup achieved by working layer upon layer of textures, paint, and markings, revealing both the richness and the poignancy derived from the irrevocable passage of time."

The constructions are often quite architectural, a development which adds to the message of their interior. Some of the boxes show the artist's interest in introducing an element of deep space by incorporating the illusion of distant landscapes beyond a window. A contrast is created between the romantic beauty of the landscape and the starker reality of the foreground, or between the natural and the man-made.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings or call the Center at 828/669-0930.

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