Currently residing at Oesterle Library Gallery is an art exhibit that revolves around symbols and meaning.
“Asemic Writing: For Your Interpretation” is a mixed-media exhibit that highlights a form of symbolic calligraphy and does not have assigned meaning. It’s for the viewer to decide what the symbols in the art represent. Images can be found within the artworks of Catherine Keebler, Pat Lagger and Michele Thrane that are meant to mimic symbols such as letters and numbers that can be seen in everyday life.
What differentiates these three artists’ works is clear through the materials they use. Thrane’s uses paneling, which adds shine and reflection to her art. Lagger’s pieces often involve the use of intense color and textured backgrounds. Frames with simple solid casings surround Keebler’s inked pieces, which draws the eye inward toward her designs. Each artist uses these and other materials to create a gallery that has a clear theme, but also intense variation.
The variations through these pieces come not just from the physical materials used, but also from the emotional and mental experiences each artist has had in their life. Keebler uses the mix of her artistic and medical training to create her pieces. She graduated with a B.F.A from the School of Art and The Art Institute of Chicago. She also has training in the scientific files of cytopathology, the study of diseases on a cellular level. This study of microscopic organic elements can be found in her “Synapse, No.2.”
In Lagger’s works, colors are deep and intense. Her lifelong career as a musicians points to her use of lines and shapes. “Through a Glass Lightly” shows her use of color and lines, including almost 3-dimensional texture throughout. Scientific equations and trips to the Serengeti influence Thrane’s artworks. A muted color scheme and seemingly lacquered panels work together to create depth through her pieces. Simple black frames hug the outside of the panels, adding to the sense of openness in her work, “Datad.”
An abstract and symbolic exhibit, “Asemic Writing,” is open at Oesterle Library Gallery through Jan. 30. This exhibit is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
