“Embedded Memories” will be on display at The James Art Gallery through Nov. 19. Credit: Courtesy Erin Wallace
Despite their drastically different artistic mediums, two local artists came together to contribute to The James Cancer Hospital’s mission to heal.
“Embedded Memories,” a collaborative exhibition by artists Melinda Rosenburg and Barb Vogel, went on display at The James Art Gallery — located in The James Cancer Hospital — Oct. 8 and will run through Nov. 19. Due to COVID-19, the gallery is not open to the general public, but a virtual walkthrough is available on the Sherrie Gallerie website and Youtube Channel, Erin Wallace, program manager for The James Art Program, said.
Rosenburg, who works in wood, and Vogel, an alternative photographer, are both artists at the Sherrie Gallerie, a contemporary art gallery owned by Sherrie Hawk located in the Short North Arts District, according to the Sherrie Gallerie website.
“I feel honored to be a part of the whole thing,” Hawk said. “To sit here and listen to Barb and Melinda, who are really two legend artists in our community, kind of brings tears to my eyes. I love to hear how they think and work. It adds to my life because it brings out emotion and thoughts you wouldn’t have on your own.”
Despite any possible challenges of working together, Rosenberg said the two artists were eager to combine their differing art mediums.
Rosenburg’s four pieces are wooden sculptures, created with tools, various woods, paint and glitter. She said the materials were not only intriguing in appearance but significant in what they conjure memory-wise.
“The wood that I pick and the way it’s manipulated is often because what it evokes, the history that it’s had,” Rosenburg said.
Vogel’s work consists of four photography pieces depicted in a dreamlike way that Rosenburg said resembles what looking through fog is like. The pieces depict botanicals and faces illuminated with different lighting, an effect achieved with a device that is typically used to scan books, Vogel said.
Despite any possible challenges of working together, Rosenberg said the two artists were eager to combine their opposing work
Wallace said The James Art Gallery opened in Jan. 2018 and is meant to be part of the healing environment at the hospital.
“We believe in the James’ vision of creating a cancer-free world, one person, one discovery at a time,” Wallace said. “Our art program contributes to that vision by enriching the patient, family, visitor and staff experience with an environment of healing and well-being.”
“Embedded Memories” will be on display at The James Art Gallery through Nov. 19. A virtual walkthrough of the gallery can be found on the Sherrie Gallerie website and Youtube channel.
