Mary Spencer and Sara Fine-Wilson Gaze and Extension

October 2 – November 2

Reception October18, 5 – 7 PM 

Spencer’s drawings investigate gaze as an extension of the heart and a porthole to the past; Fine-Wilson’s sculptures explore visual history and expand a sense of reach.

Sara Fine-Wilson, From the Core,
mixed media Sculpture

Sara Fine-Wilson’s current body of work explores the idea and process of breaking things down and rebuilding them multiple times, as way to create history in visual form. Evidence of where things may have been connected through smudges, smears and stains indicate the passing of time. Material like wax, plaster, epoxy and construction adhesive are raw, oozy, chalky and refer to what lies under the surface of constructed forms. Part of the process of making this work was to crack, drop, and deconstruct various elements and use the resulting detritus as raw material which the artist then reassembled, combining materials in a visual and directional flow.  In this work she is particularly interested in sculpturally mapping time and creating a sense of reach.

Mary Spencer, Jack Singing in the Wind,
charcoal on paper

Mary Spencer’s drawings provide what the glance of an eye cannot….a porthole into the past, a means of more fully understanding the present, and an inspiration for meditations, fantasies. Drawing conveys an emotional quality, a feel beyond the capture of a camera lens; the hand charges an image with energy, beauty or ugliness. The human gaze is the extension of the heart and mind. The face can gape, glare, and gloat. Emotions filter through a face. For this series Spencer has chosen to limit her subject to eye-engaging men from various occupations, as a way to have a conversation with them. What are they silently saying?

About the Artists

Sara Fine-Wilson is an artist and teacher who works primarily in sculpture and also in photography and painting. She earned a  BFA fromThe Maryland Institute college of Art with a Major in Ceramics, a Master of Science in Art Education from Massachusetts College of Art and a MFA in Ceramics at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.PA.  She was a resident artist at The Worcester Center for Crafts. She Her work has been shown at The Concord Art Association, Fitchburg Art Museum, Danforth Museum of Art, Gallery 540 at Urban Outfitters World Headquarters. She is an associate member of the Fountain Street Fine Art Gallery in Framingham Ma where her work is represented regularly. She currently teaches Ceramics and painting. She works from her studio in Millbury, Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband Bruce and her dog Arlo.

A Natick, Massachusetts resident, Mary Spencer received her BS from Nazareth College of Rochester, New York and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She taught at Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Spencer has received an ART Grant, a Natick Cultural Council Grant, and a Massachusetts Artists Fellowship in Drawing, the Blanche E. Coleman Award and Fellowships to Yaddo, The Millay Colony for the Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.  Her work has been shown throughout New England, New York, the Mid-West, Cuba and South Africa. Her work is in the collections of the Boston Athenaeum, the Decordova Museum, the Boston Public Library, and numerous corporate and private collections.

Reflections on Making: Sara Fine-Wilson talks about Sara Sze

This is another in a series of occasional blog posts, where we've asked a member artist to talk briefly about an artist who's profoundly influenced their work. Here, associate artist Sara Fine-Wilson talks about her fascination with the work of Sara Sze.

photo courtesy of : artsmarttalk.blogspot.com/2012/03/sarah-sze-our-artist-invenice.

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Paying attention to what is there can often prompt questions about whats not there and why. This is where I begin. I try to take notice of what I might have missed, ignored or dismissed as irrelevant. Often times this act can lead me to discovery. As an artist I can set up parameters and manipulate materials that act as a map to guide the viewer but I donʼt tell the whole story. I am interested layered connections, how they form and what they look like.

Inspiration for the objects I make can come from a broken bit of something glossy, a collection of parts waiting to be purposed, a desire to manipulate a certain material and the way things interact with each other. Inspiration also happens when I have conversations with students, colleagues and other artists.

Most recently I have been paying attention to the work of Sara Sze. I am interested in the way she explores the idea of being thrown of center and out of one comfort zone. She creates situations in which the viewer has an experience of interacting that provokes questions and exploration. If you want to read more about her work check out this piece in the NY Times.

And now a bit about Sara Fine-Wilson...

Levitate, sculpture by Sara Fine-Wilson

Sara Fine-Wilson is an artist and teacher who works primarily in sculpture and also in photography and painting. She attended The Maryland Institute college of Art and earned a BFA with a Major in Ceramics.  She went on to the Massachusetts College of Art and earned a Master of Science in Art Education with a studio focus in clay. She then spent a year as a resident artist at The Worcester Center for Crafts. She completed her MFA in Ceramics at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.PA. Her work has been shown at The Concord Art Association, Fitchburg Art Museum, Danforth Art, Gallery 540 at Urban Outfitters World Headquarters. She is an associate member of the Fountain Street Fine Art Gallery in Framingham Ma where her work is represented regularly. She currently teaches art at Lincoln SudburyRegional High School. She continues to work in her studio in Millbury Massachusetts where she lives with her husband Bruce and her dog Arlo. See more of her work at sarafinewilson.com.