Random Access Gallery will present “Soft Items,” a solo exhibition of sculptures by Braxton Congrove, Nov. 2-9 in 117 Smith Hall. An opening reception will be held Friday, Nov. 2, from 5-8 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Congrove derives her fiction-based work from occurrences in daily life. Her sculptures and scenes are reminiscent of everyday objects, with shapes and forms easily recognizable as things you could find around your home. These images are shrunken, enlarged, multiplied and re-coated in velvety textures, creating an augmented reality that feels like a child’s drawing of a room. Together this surreal collection of objects works as a comfort space.
“Soft Items” champions lighthearted, playful narratives while letting the viewer in on an inside joke. Congrove’s created world is a return to adolescence, where the proposition of play generates naive and humorous sculptural objects.
Congrove lives and works in Richmond, Va. She received a B.F.A. from James Madison University and attended the Virginia Commonwealth University Summer Studio Program. Recent solo exhibitions took place at VALET, Arlington Arts Center and Hillyer Art Space. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at ADA, Disjecta, and Not Gallery, among others. She has attended residencies at Ox-Bow, Bread and Puppet Theater, OTTO’s Abode, and c3:Initiative and was a 2018 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship recipient. Her work has been featured in Dialogue Magazine, Hiss Mag Issue 1 and the “Curator in Residence: Julia Greenway” exhibition catalog.
Random Access Gallery’s exhibitions, performances, artist talks and panel discussions offer a space for broadening the scope of interdisciplinary collaboration and experimentation in contemporary creative practices. Through dynamic curatorial initiatives and inclusivity, Random Access Gallery brings together local, national, and international artists for critical conversations. Random Access is funded through the generous contributions of the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Art and CASP.
For an accommodations request, please contact Rebecca Forstater at /" data-cke-saved-href="http://randomaccessspace@gmail.com">.