Holly Hiday
Contemporary art takes on different meanings depending on the artists defining it, but nothing could feel more current than the innovative works in Smoke and Mirrors: Sculpture and the Imaginary. Included are several pieces by Brooklyn-based artist Kathleen Vance, who seeks to capture a part of nature that is untouched by humans. In the series Traveling Landscapes, her fastidious sculptures playfully combine suitcases with miniaturized living landscapes of grandiose scale. Streams and rivers course through and activate the seemingly familiar terrains of rolling hills and densely treed grasslands.
As a special part of this exhibition, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville invited Vance to evolve her series Rogue Stream by creating a site-responsive installation based entirely on the St. Johns River. After studying the river’s course, Vance has recreated it in miniature—echoing every bend as water charts through the city and in the replica. Created to celebrate Cultural Fusion’s Year of the River, Vance has constructed a living sculpture that poses questions about our relationship to nature.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is located 333 North Laura Street, Jacksonville. For exhibition hours, visit www.mocajacksonville.org.
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