Art is always in conversation with itself. It builds on past traditions, experiments with new materials, and reimagines old techniques. While artistic movements may seem radical in their time, there’s a direct throughline from the earliest cave paintings to modern abstraction, from simple sketches to immersive sculptures. At its core, art is about communicating human experience—expressing truths that can be deeply personal yet universally understood.
For centuries, philosophers have debated the nature of art and reality. Plato believed that art was merely an imitation—twice removed from true reality, which he saw as the world of ideal Forms. Because material things were only imperfect copies of these perfect Forms, he was skeptical of art’s value. Aristotle, on the other hand, saw art as a powerful means of engaging with the world, a way to process experience and evoke catharsis.
This exhibition, Matter and Form, takes its name from this philosophical debate while celebrating the interplay between material and idea. Is art shaped by the concepts behind it, or do materials themselves influence what can be imagined? Artists manipulate matter to create form, but form also dictates how we understand matter. Hard materials can feel soft, empty space can define structure, and the unexpected use of a material can change how we see the world.
The works in this show challenge traditional notions of what art can be by pushing the boundaries of materiality. Artists explore new ways of making, experimenting with texture, durability, and perception. By expanding their material vocabulary, they invite us to expand our own ways of seeing, questioning, and understanding the world around us.
Participating artists include Thomas Barger, Chris Bogia, LaKela Brown, Ben Cowan, Corydon Cowansage, Carl D'Alvia, Francesca DiMattio, Nick Doyle, Ben Durham, Elise Ferguson, Al Freeman, Christina Forrer, Hilliary Gabryel, True Harrigan, Jessie Henson, Stephanie Temma Hier, Ficus Interfaith, Colin Knight, Elise LaFontaine, Paul Latislaw, Kevin Lowenthal, Diana Sofia Lozano, Nicole Nadeau, Vincent Pocsik, and Maureen St Vincent.