Artist's Abstraction Encourages Introspection

Deeply thought-provoking and aesthetically pleasing, the art exhibit by Susan Zurbrigg currently on display in the Hartzler Library Gallery is best greeted with an open mind. This JMU professor of art presents an exhibit that encourages introspection instead of trying to communicate her own ideas.

At first glance, this unique and off-beat exhibit seems to be a hodge-podge of random items interspersed with colorful finger-paintings. Upon entering the gallery, the viewer will find a number of things: first, a collection of paintings scattered throughout the gallery, with vibrant colors and thick, broad, brush strokes. Next, there is a section of wall filled with rectangles of various sizes covered in different textured and patterned pieces of fabric. Finally, an odd assortment of 3-D compositions using yarn, wallpaper, wood, and other various and sundry items round out the gallery.

One interesting detail about the exhibit is that very few of her pieces are titled. While this could be simply lack of inspiration, it seems rather to be in direct correlation with the style of the pieces themselves. The artist seems to invite the viewer to look closer and find his or her own meaning in each piece by creating each piece in abstraction, and therefore it can be inferred that the artist deliberately chose to leave most pieces unnamed in order to allow the viewer to interpret each piece to the fullest extent.

Because the artist's work is open to a variety of interpretations, it is difficult to find underlying themes that connect each piece. However, in the artist's statement, she gives a number of clues as to some possibilities. She writes, "I am aware that even inside abstraction, inquiry into identity and narrative can inevitably reconstruct. It is intrinsic to making. I find biographical content present in the depiction of disparate elements that work and struggle to occupy one space." With this in mind, it is possible to glimpse hints of history throughout the exhibit, though not in any concrete way.

Simply put, Zubrigg's works are difficult to interpret because they are so intensely abstract, and by their very nature they cause almost a sense of confusion. However, her technique draws the viewer in using oddity as intrigue and color as emotion. Her paintings seem to be in constant motion, probably due to her wide sweeping and heavily layered brush strokes. In addition, her 3-D pieces, while almost more confusing in nature, also draw the viewer in with interesting placement, composition, and contrasting colors and shapes.

While the artist's exhibit may not be the most traditional in its content, it is certainly worth visiting if not just to be perplexed. It is not an exhibit to visit with expectations of discovering the artist's mindset, but more an exhibit to view with the intent of learning more about oneself through one's own interpretations of each piece.