BRATTLEBORO-Vermont-based collage artist Vanessa Compton, whose artwork is currently on view at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), will discuss her work at the museum on Sunday, March 30, at 1 p.m.
Compton's exhibition, "A Night at the Garden," is on view in the museum's large, outward-facing window bays and in the Spotlight Gallery through April 27.
Raised in rural Vermont and now based in Burlington, Compton combines hand-cut papers and paint to create surreal landscapes.
At BMAC, reproductions of her collages are presented on a much larger scale than the original works.
"As a collagist, I see art as a vehicle for social criticism and focusing on issues of our time," Compton said.
Each collage is a way for Compton to wrestle with big questions, she says. How do we navigate the complicated histories that divide people but also bind them together? How do we love and protect children in a messy, unpredictable world? How do we reconcile mythologies about the American West that valued violence and claim that everyone had equal access to freedom?
Compton has lived in Dakar, Senegal, where she studied the kora and its influence on contemporary hip-hop music; and in Kumasi, Ghana, where she studied Highlife and palm-wine guitar. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder, with an emphasis in ceramic sculpture.
For many years, she lived a life of migration, working as a seasonal rock-climbing guide in the Southwest and attending artist residencies. Her collages and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the U.S. and appear in private collections around the world.
Admission for the March 30 event is free. Walk-ins are welcome, but advance registration is recommended. To register, visit brattleboromuseum.org or call 802-257-0124, ext. 101.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.