The main gallery at the Jamestown Arts Center transforms into a labyrinth of color and texture in Dropcloths: Tales of a Process, featuring large-scale textile installations by Rhode Island artist Deborah Baronas. In the small gallery, the first ever exhibition of selected work by 17 participants of the Ceramic Artist Residency Program at the JAC: Centering: Clay and Community. Both exhibitions open January 19 through March 16, 2024.
Dropcloths: Tales of a Process highlights the intersection of art, history, and the artistic practice. Deborah Baronas’ art is visual storytelling, encouraging viewers to delve deeper into the nuances of the creative process. Her intention is to prompt a reexamination of our surroundings, urging us to recognize the beauty and historical significance embedded in the ordinary.
“I make artwork about work,” Baronas explains. Her career has focused on capturing the spirit and resilience of labor in New England communities—spanning farmers, soldiers, mill workers, enslaved people, domestic servants, and more.
At the core of the exhibition are drop cloths, emblematic of Baronas’ artistic process. These seemingly accidental byproducts capture both Baronas’ artistic process and narrative; they serve as a canvas for social commentary and storytelling.
In Centering: Clay and Community, the relationship between clay and the local community is on full display. Curators Jon Baylor and Melinda Katherine Frederick explain: “Very few artistic mediums require the trust, acceptance, generosity, and cooperation as that of the ceramic making process. Bonds are formed within the studio, not only between the fired clay and glazes, but also between the people who are working within the group.”
The small gallery exhibition features the work of 17 of the artists who have participated in the Ceramic Artist Residency Program (CARP) since its inception in 2022: David Beretta, Ellen Bulger, Rosemary Burns, Michael Cole, Karen Dolmanisth, Joanna Grocott, Samira Hakki, Andrew Hunter, Shannon Kennelly, Susan Mailloux, Kelly McDermott, Becky Olien, Tory Reiff, Nicholas Shapin, Diane Terry, Michele Umbenhauer, and Alexi Sarah Widoff.
Dropcloths: Tales of a Process and Centering: Clay and Community are on view during regular gallery hours from January 19 through March 16, 2024 (Wednesday – Saturday, 11 am–3 pm). Free Opening Reception will be held on January 19 from 5:30–7:30 pm.
Exhibitions at the JAC are free and open to all. Many of the works are available for purchase on the Jamestown Arts Center’s online store, with proceeds benefiting the individual artists and the JAC.
