Natural Order (Opening Reception) – MBAW Art Gallery

As a philosophical and theological construct, the idea of “natural order” has been around for centuries, shifting with each epoch’s understanding of nature, order, and our relationship to the cosmos. Used alternately as a means to find comfort, reason, or justification for our actions and place in the universe, humanity’s notions of what is “natural” or “orderly” has as many permutations as nature itself.

Natural Order features three photographers who capture, conjure, or construct a sense of order and meaning from the natural world, reflecting on the wonder and mysteries we discover or bring to the experience. Robert Michaelson turns is camera skyward, observing the grandeur of astronomical phenomena in the night sky, the migration and flight of birds, and the nature of water in his stunning images. Kyle Petersen’s “Tiny & Wild” series presents an intimate, personal engagement with the small-scale creatures in our midst. The contained, close-up compositions and dramatic, moody lighting create a highly formalized context to consider the hidden ecosystems and characters just outside our back doors. In her richly inventive “Still Life” series, Barbra Riley elides the style and substance of 17th century Dutch painting with modern technology and contemporary habits and mores. Integrating the luxury, rich color, staged compositions and hidden symbolism of the historical tradition with elements of modernity, Riley calls into question our perceptions of nature, artifice, life, death, morality, and history itself.

This opening reception is free with wine, bites and music at the MBAW Art Gallery!

On view from 9 September – 17 November 2023 by appointment.
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