An exhibtion featuring the artwork of Ashley Feagin and Libby Rowe. On view July 30 - August 13, 2021.
Above image: Ashley Feagin, Installation documentation, 2021.
Gallery Director's Statement
We Are Overwhelmed brings together two distinct bodies of work created by Ashley Feagin and Libby Rowe, interdisciplinary artists who are navigating the new realities of social distancing, isolationist living choices and forced compression of domestic and professional roles. Both Rowe and Feagin are also mothers, educators, professionals, dealing with the mental toll of juggling each of these rolls and their unique demands, with the added chaos of quarantine, distance teaching, and coordinating their children’s distance learning efforts. Gone are the physical and mental separations that help with navigating the shifts between domestic and professional roles. The cushion of the transitional period of a commute, during which work stressors decompress and the pressures of work are shed to allow for presence when with families, has vanished. The stress of work and the stress of home are now physically and mentally commingled to create a veritable pressure cooker that demands constant monitoring. The artwork in this exhibition aims to recognize the cracks that emerge from the forced merging of professional responsibilities into their familial and domestic spaces.
Feagin’s works, 1260 sq ft, Addicted and Overwhelmed, and Late Night Distractions, examine specific topics of the domestic queer space such as: her transition into queer family; her evolution as an adoptive parent of an neurodivergent child; the exploration of family history and its role in crafting the domestic space; and the mixture of queer, trans and domestic identity in domestic spaces through photographs, video, fabric and installations.
Rowe’s installation, Taming the Chaotic Mind, embodies the different sources of the noise that often renders her unable to begin any one task. Visual representations of objects that are everyday items that hang, dangle, or are suspended—car sale triangle banner lines, clothes drying on a line, swings on a swing set, strings of lights, birds on a telephone line, etc.—reflect different aspects of life. The objects are overlaid with imagery and text from the myriad attention-demanding thoughts, ideas, and bits of information that fuel the chaos that exists within her and in the lives and minds of so many women in the world today.
Opening Reception
An opening reception for this exhibition will occur on Friday, July 30 from 4 pm to 6 pm.
Exhibition Period
On view On view July 30 - August 13, 2021. Visitors to the gallery are strongly encouraged to follow policies regarding face coverings at UTSA found here.
Gallery Hours
Thursdays - Saturdays: 10 am until 3pm and by appointment.
This exhibition is free and open to the public.
We politely ask that appointment requests be made by email one week in advance to allow appropriate time to coordinate scheduling with Art Department Staff.
Questions
If you have any questions about this exhibition, please contact art.events@utsa.edu.
UTSA Main Art Gallery
Arts Building, 2.03.04
UTSA Main Campus
One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249.
Exhibition Gallery
