Chalet Comellas & Christina Poindexter: “Attempts in Systematic Lyrical Arrangements”
With funds provided by an FSU Professional Development Grant and the support of The University of Arts and Sciences of Oklahoma, Assistant Teaching Professor Chalet Comellas and FSU MFA Alum 2012 Christina Poindexter present their newest bodies of individual work as well as a collaborative video installation in the Nesbitt Gallery on the USAO campus. The exhibit opened on Saturday, November 14 and will run until December 4, 2015. All the works in the show speak to the nature of poetic arrangements in various definitions and were designed through systematic conceptual means.
The title of the exhibition stems from a collection of terms the artists often use to describe their individual and collective works. Both respond to the negotiation of emotional arrangements that facilitate meaningful connections in their lives.
Poindexter says that with this work she attempts to bring together notions of connection/ distance/ and memory through a variety of materials, such as drywall, iPhone photos, and hand made rope. My “Bruise Studies” are humble reminders of our body’s physicality and I give reverence to these ephemeral markings by enlarging and embedding them in a building material.
Within Comellas’ work, each piece is comprised of separate elements that are developed and then composed on site, through a series of systematic responses. Her intent is to point the viewer toward the notion that each work in the show represents an improvisational duet between subject and object.
Chalet Comellas and Christina Poindexter collaborated on the video installation in the center of the gallery space and have collaborated for the past four years on various projects, creating immersive environments with their works. Together they have completed large-scale community outreach projects, and have exhibited in galleries, art centers and art fairs. Each recently earned an MFA in studio art at FSU, and share backgrounds in painting, photography, performance, installation, and sculpture. An underlying goal in most if not all of Comellas and Poindexter’s collaborative works is to create immersive environments that can be socially engaging. They strive for works to carry a simple beauty as well.
More information on the artists can be found on their websites: chaletcomellas.com & www.christinapoindexter.com