UMBRELLA GALLERY

One Plus One Equals
Artists: Jean McIntosh, Diane Harper, Lance Leonhirth and Judy Schecter

January 9th through January 30th

Jean McIntosh
Beneath The Sea

Although I’m from Pecos in West Texas, I’ve always been draws to the ocean. As a child my family would leave behind the mountains, mesas and barren expanses and head to the beach. I became fascinated and captivated by life beyond the shore. Over the years I’ve experimented with installations of various substrates to convey the beauty and serendipity of patterns, colors and aquatic life. The textures and colors inspire me to create art that reflects the vibrant ecosystem beneath the waves. I blend these natural elements with my own artistic vision, crafting immersive installations that invite viewers to experience the ocean’s magic.

I use Masa, paper, wire, encaustic, monotypes, plaster, driftwood, sticks, tissue paper…almost any material that can help to guide my concepts. I want the viewer to see the power of the ocean from many vantage points…color, texture, patterns, movement. These installations are also a testament to the ocean’s mystery, vastness and perpetual discovery.

Diane Harper
What We Leave Behind

I have been working on an ongoing art installation inspired by my family’s history and the impact of consumer culture on the environment. It is a journey of remembering, grieving, and reflecting on the past. Digging through old family archives, thrift stores, home improvement stores and Goodwill outlets, I found items that conjure joy filled remembrances. However, alongside nostalgic discovery is the overwhelming sight of all the trash and discarded materials—especially plastics—piling up everywhere. It is impossible to ignore how much damage this waste does to our planet. As a consumer, I would rather deny these truths, however as an artist I choose to face them.

This project is my way of facing the uncomfortable truths while contemplating what my own and my family’s legacy might look like in the future. If future generations dig up the things we left behind, what will they see? Will they understand the roles we inhabited and the activities we valued in context of the artifacts they find? Or will they just see the mountains of plastic, clothing, and waste we left behind – devoid of joy – contributing to the destruction of ecosystems and civilizations?

In a dual role of artist-consumer, I combine found objects, construction scraps and supplies, discarded clothing, synthetic foams, paints, resin and clay, plaster, wire, paper and inks to build clusters. Each cluster is a collision of memory, love, and critique – a meditation on the impact of collective and familial choices.

Lance Leonhirth,
The Reluctant Time-Traveler

What is the soul? Where does it come from, where does it reside, and what happens to it after physical death?

Usually when someone thinks of the infinite, they think of the grandiosity of the Universe and Space, with a capital S. This wall-hanging reminds me of the microscopically small. The pointillistic dots on the canvas are the atomic building blocks of the universe, and the almost infinite space between them, which comprise the material world we experience and the gravitational curvature of space/time. The soul’s journey through the universe– corporeal and spiritual– is complex, circuitous, and mystical.

Judy Schecter
Extinguish – Love Flows / Hate Smolders

I am overwhelmed by the atrocities happening in the world—hateful rhetoric and violent actions driven by those who seek to “fix things” simply because they disagree. Innocent people, like Jews attending a music festival, violently targeted and kidnapped. WHAT DOES THAT LEAD TO – MORE…shootings, attempted assassinations, mutilations, bombings, more innocents dying, endless vitriol…flames that continue to rage. WHERE IS compassion, reflection, conversation, understanding, and humanity?
“Extinguish” is a reflection on these thoughts, as I continue to question why this world seems trapped in a cycle of hatred, division, prejudice, and disdain. What is happening to us? What would it take to break this cycle of chaos and allow us to breathe freely—just be? Can love flow over us all, extinguishing the fires of hate and violence? It feels overwhelming and endless.

In this piece, the glass flowing from the faucet mimics the natural pouring of water—and the glass hearts symbolize love—pouring out to douse the flames of hatred and those who perpetuate it. It invites viewers to take a long, hard look and examine where they fit in—immersed in the flames, or pouring love, offering solace within the flowing water coming from your heart, or becoming numb to the heat and the hate?

Umbrella Gallery
2803 Taylor St.
Dallas, TX 75226

Hours:
Monday – Friday
7:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday
9:00 am – 1:00 pm

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