Elsewhere. Absent. Postponed. Hiding. These words describe the newest show at the University of Maryland’s Stamp Gallery. “Placeholder,” features four artists from Oct. 10 to Dec. 9, according to the gallery website.
Elliot Doughtie, Richard Hart, Danni O’Brien and James Williams II each put their spin on the evocative theme of placeholders with contributions that vary in materials and media elements. With interesting shapes, vivid colors and unexpected textures, these artists created one cohesive story of placeholders, conveying the message of the stand-in.
Maura Callahan, who serves as the graduate student assistant for the gallery, said they wanted to do a show centered around this idea.
“We wanted to think about this as an expansive term that addresses many things, including metaphor, synecdoche, substitution, pauses in time, acts of literally holding things in place and so on,” Callahan said. “These four artists that are in the show are working along these lines in very different ways, but in ways that nonetheless, work very well together.”
Viewers can expect to see a variety of paintings, sculptures and other mixed media works during their visit to the exhibition.
Callahan said the viewer’s experience is unique to each individual, because of the broadness of the exhibit’s theme.
“What is different about this show is…it is particularly expansive and open to interpretation…what people take away from this show really depends on how they engage with the work and what they’re bringing to it,” Callahan said. “One thing that’s also exciting about the show is just the range of media that’s used.”
One student who particularly enjoyed the show left an anonymous message on the gallery’s comment cards.
“Thought provoking pieces! Love the variety of media in the pieces! Each piece perfectly fits the theme, placeholder,” the card read.
The first artist Callahan approached for the show was James Williams II, a Baltimore-based creator.
“One of the things that [James] is known for is using velcro, which is an interesting materialization of sort of literally holding things in place. Again, thinking about this idea of placeholder and because things can be added, removed and moved around, using velcro as a temporary adhesive,” Callahan said. “For James, it’s a useful metaphor for the ways in which blackness is numerously constructed and reconstructed.”
Williams said he has been making art since childhood and always enjoyed being creative. When Callahan reached out to him with the idea for this exhibit, he was excited.
Two of the pieces Williams contributed were older and first debuted at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
“I make work because I make work, I don’t necessarily make it for a specific show,” Williams said.
Rachel Schmid-James, a sophomore art history major, who works as a docent at the gallery particularly enjoyed one of Williams’ pieces, a painting entitled “Rapunzel.”
In “Rapunzel,” Williams uses oil and velcro to depict a young faceless woman emerging from lush greenery.
“Having a face or not having a face didn’t change the narrative of this piece for me. The title of it really speaks more to the hair and the use of hair rather than trying to identify who this person looks like,” Williams said. “I don’t feel like it’s my job to fully feed the viewer but to give enough for the viewer to contemplate and think.”
According to Williams, the use of velcro for his pieces is not only a creative choice representing larger themes, but also made the most sense practically. He uses industrial velcro on both sides of the canvas panel to ensure maximum stability and enable him to continue evolving his paintings.
“It was kind of tiresome sometimes to keep moving a piece around and not getting to a point where I felt there was not a way to keep playing with it,” he added.
Aside from William’s paintings, the exhibition showcases larger sculptural works from Danni O’Brien and Elliot Doughtie.
“I’ve been a fan of Elliot’s work for a large time, in part because of its sharp humor, which we definitely get here in this show through the two sculptures that are in the exhibition,” Callahan said.
New York City based artist Richard Hart brought something completely different to the exhibit, Callahan said.
Playing with rock formations and light projections against a white canvas sheet, Hart evoked a sense of the placeholder.
“I’m interested in the way that he incorporates both the materials like the physical rock itself and also its representation or record in the form of video,” Callahan said. “The traces of water brushed up to the rock represent a kind of temporary pause in time. I think that those are just really interesting pieces that he’s brought to the show.”
Community members can experience “Placeholder” on the first floor of the Stamp Student Union in the art gallery. The gallery is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. To learn more about the exhibition visit their website here.