Artists Nathan McClements and Caroline Herring have embodied the spirit of Redux’s Lightning Residency program with their combined exhibition Salvage, a collection of work completed during their six-week stay at the King Street contemporary art center.
Residencies provide artists with time, space and resources to work on the research and development of their practice. The program at Redux is specifically focused on creating space for emerging artists, who, upon acceptance, work diligently on a comprehensive project in a studio space shared with one other artist.
For McClements and Herring, the residency proved fertile ground for artistic growth and collaboration. The two artists each cite the other’s creative energy, as well as the chance to engage with the larger Redux community, as a source of inspiration and motivation for the work presented in Salvage, which is on view at Redux until May 20.
Trash to treasure
McClements, a mixed media artist, paints and draws on a variety of surfaces, often using textiles and found materials. He installed what he called a “donation coffin” at Redux during the residency. Redux visitors used the “donation coffin” to donate materials which he imbued with new life.
“Donations are rad to experiment and create with because they are someone else’s attachments,” McClements said. “The coffin symbolizes that transition of someone else’s object.”
During the six week residency, McClements created art from those repurposed materials, like cardboard, burlap, scrap fabrics and even a yellow firehouse. He painted expressively onto his already-expressive surfaces with images of reflective, subdued figures, also depicting skulls, animals and props.
McClement’s paintings can be characterized by a distinctive touch of mark-making which is equal parts playful and intentional.
Alongside his paintings in Salvage, McClements shows off his skills as a seamster, making jackets and quilts out of donated scraps from King Street bag shop J. Stark, taking the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” to a new level.
“I was painting a ton throughout, but was even more proud of how the quilts and coats turned out,” McClements said. “Caroline and I were discussing the use of recycled materials, repurposing our creativity and reusing existing symbols as a means to new growth.”
Fertile ground
Herring created work in Salvage which is markedly different from the work she’s known for and said the residency inspired growth and experimentation in ways she never predicted.
“Though I knew I wanted to experiment with my art making, I never thought I’d walk away working in an entirely different medium,” she said.
When Herring entered the residency, she started creating photos in an effort to capture and cope with her grief from the recent loss of her grandmother.
After about three weeks, Herring said she had to take a step back to figure out why she was feeling displeased with what she was creating.
“I couldn’t put a finger on it, but I felt like I was holding myself back in some way,” she said.
“I realized I was afraid. It was then I decided that in order to cope with this loss of childhood, I needed to take myself less seriously. I needed to play like a child again, and what better way than to get out of my comfort zone and learn something new?”
Herring said the resources at Redux — like the printmaking studio and the plethora of artists offering support — pushed her towards experimenting with screen printing.
“It’s crazy how instantly I began to open up, get weird and connect with the work,” she said. “Screen printing is essentially painting with imagery. You can repeat images, layer, mix colors, print on paper, fabric, etc. Screen printing opened up endless possibilities with low pressure. It was the perfect avenue for me to push the bar as a creator and channel healing for my grieving inner child.”
Sharing space
Upon entering the residency, Herring said she was in a place of grief, unsure of her ability to “pull this residency off.” She said witnessing McClement’s approach to art making helped push her towards experimentation.
“Nathan’s free-flowing creative energy is so contagious, and it heavily influenced me to let go, experiment with new mediums and see where it took me,” Herring said. “He welcomes anything thrown at him, doesn’t question it. He just creates what comes to mind.
“That’s the beauty of sharing a studio space,” she said. “No matter how dissimilar the artists are in medium, approach, or headspace, you can inspire and learn from each other in ways you couldn’t without.”
There are collaborative pieces in Salvage, including jackets sewn by McClements with fabric screen-printed by Herring. The gallery space which holds the exhibition is taken over too by this vibe of creative cross-pollination: in preparation of their opening, the two artists spray painted the gallery walls, incorporated floral arrangements by Herring and installed a truly impressive show of prints, photos, paintings, quilts and more.
Herring said, “the exhibition is truly a celebration of two worlds colliding, collaborating, and coexisting all in one space.”
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