BRATTLEBORO-"Innerstate Vol. 1," a show in two volumes by Julia Sorensen and Nicholas Cain that features both new work by each artist and collaborative paintings in an everchanging display experience, is on exhibit through Wednesday, July 3, at Harmony Collective on Elliot Street.
"Abstract art at its best reveals something about both the painter and the viewer," the gallery wrote in a news release. "It connects us to feeling, to the unconscious, and to ourselves. It pushes the boundaries of what is seen and unseen and can illustrate both an internal and external journey. 'Innerstate' paints us through this unfamiliar landscape to ask where along the journey do each of our inner states reveal themselves?"
Sorensen and Cain explained the process behind the works on display.
"For the collaborative works, we've been taking turns working on canvasses, passing them back and forth so the levels of each of our work build upon themselves." Sorensen said. "The viewer will not necessarily know which parts of a painting came from each artist. It's like a duet."
"We thought the show should transform and deepen over the two months as the layers are peeled back," said Cain, "what you see in one visit will be different from what you see the next. The show is also multilayered, with the pieces interacting with a mural background."
Cain says he has a passion for communicating through a language of abstraction. He views this passion as a continuous learning experience that expands with every new endeavor he takes on. His work "is quirky, continuous and unique to the times," say organizers.
"The spontaneity of my art work roots deeply within my emotional state," he said.
Sorensen similarly believes in art as an expression of feeling and in its ability to capture what in life is inevitably fleeting.
"My process when painting abstractly involves expressing my own feeling through painting," she said. "I often don't know what shape or form a piece will take, but rather begin with a color palette and let the painting become what it wants to be, almost sculpting the painting, bringing in multiple layers and techniques."
In "Innerstate Vol. 2," Cain and Sorensen will continue to ask how the twists and turns of innerstate thoughts, feelings, and emotions reveal themselves in the mind and eyes of the beholder. An opening celebration will be held Friday, July 5, during Gallery Walk from 5 to 9 p.m.
The Harmony Collective is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Learn more at HarmonyArtsBrattleboro.com, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.