Reyes Projects has announced two solo exhibitions featuring new works by Detroit-based artists Marie Herwald Hermann: “Shields and Parergons” and Nancy M. Mitchnick: “Dog Show”. The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday, October 28 from 6-8PM. The works will remain on view through November 25.
Marie Herwald Hermann’s work will fill the ground floor of the gallery – a site-specific installation inspired by the architectural lines of the space. This presentation marks Reyes Projects’ first venture with the artist and sets the tone for their inaugural participation in NADA Miami (December 7-10), which will include a solo booth of Hermann’s work, co-curated by Al Moran.
Marie Herwald Hermann, A Gentle Blow to the Rock, 2013
Upon entering the gallery, visitors will encounter several of Hermann’s large-scale objects, barriers that diffuse noise from the outside world. Hermann’s work is quiet and should be experienced in tranquility, shielded from urban commotion. Walls are donned with shelves, also designed by Hermann, that carry groups of delicate, unfixed clusters of ceramics. Such groupings encourage viewers to understand the pieces through their interactions with each other; they are approachable but distinctly self-contained. Hermann’s ceramics estrange the domestic landscape to create beautifully simple pieces that preclude the functionality their shapes suggest, promoting a reevaluation of ceramics as an art form.
An exhibition of new works by Nancy Mitchnick inhabits the lower level. Acclaimed as both a painter and teacher, Mitchnick is known for her bold use of stroke and color to create impactful images depicting a variety of subjects. She masks narrative and illusion with an expressionistic hand, her compositions calling viewers to pause and reflect on a confident dexterity.
Mitchnick is one of the few women to emerge from the 1970’s Detroit Cass Corridor movement. Her work is free of references to aesthetic doctrine and the sociopolitical themes often found in the work of her contemporaries. Instead, her paintings are subject-driven, almost humanizing, and often depict the urban, domestic architecture of the Detroit area.
Together, the work of Hermann and Mitchnick becomes a silent meditation on artistic craft – a gesture that creates a space filled with a sense of calm familiarity and pure intention.