Jung Center: (w)Hole, a group exhibit

• 2 years ago
• Posted in: Exhibition Reviews
• 3
• Author: Matt

I’ve been looking for exhibits and artworks that reflect the times. Coming out of CoronaWorld, we are all having to create our “new normal” and reflecting on the emotional turmoil of the last couple years is the biggest part of that. Proper artists have always reflected their times and this exhibit is an excellent example of that! Now, not to be melodramatic about it but, this was the first exhibition opening in which the works moved me to tears in the midst of the crowd. So, I have to bring it to you now.

The exhibiting artists (JJ Baker, Pat McEnery, Ellen Orseck, Laura Spector, Peggy Steup, Terry Wheeler) have chosen to be called “Drawing from the Wound Collective” so you immediately have a sense of what they’re about. The three themes of their inaugural project are: 1) grief, 2) apology and 3) healing; each artist tackled each theme. Each artwork is loaded with emotional narrative and comes with a spoken word recording, written by the artist, of about 2-8 minutes. My favorites are Steup’s “Leaving Home”, Wheeler’s “Broken”, and Orseck’s “Guilt Cookies”. Some recordings are quite direct while others are rather oblique; you can listen to them all here. Furthermore, their deliberate, involved process is described here.

From a collector’s perspective, these are challenging artworks to bring into a collection considering the highly personal narratives that are told. I would love to talk to anyone who acquires a piece from this exhibit. All are for sale in the $2000 – $3500 general range.

The exhibit is on view at the Jung Center (5200 Montrose Blvd., Houston 77006) until December 20, 2022, Mon-Thurs 12:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. and Sat 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

(All photos by Matt Adams taken at the exhibition.)