Kaleidoscope

January 13th - February 24th, 2023

Featuring artists Eric Anthony Berdis, Doug Eberhardt, and Brenna Thummler. Co-curated by Heather Fish and Claire Klima.

Eric Anthony Berdis

Eric Anthony Berdis maintains an independent studio practice while completing their early childhood education degree at Pennsylvania Western University at Edinboro. The artist incorporates textiles into a social, research-driven craft centered around reimagining queer experiences. Berdis grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania and worked for Americorps between undergraduate and graduate school. Don't Let Them Clip Your Tiny Little Insect Wings (2018-2022) consists of fabric bugs yielded from numerous workshops held at universities, summer camps, and LGBTQ+ spaces. Berdis asks participants to consider challenges they overcame and create an insect reflecting on what gave them strength to "keep their wings." They then "gift" the artist their creation, and Berdis hand stitches embellishments as an act of reverence for each contribution. The artist began the ongoing project in 2018. Blue Braids, Hide & Seek, and Frosted Pink (2022) reference Polari, a coded language used in queer subcultures dating back to the 19th century. Polari proliferated in port cities as a "tell," or signal to other queer folks of solidarity and safety. Users of the language included performers, wrestlers, sailors, and sex workers, to name a few, until its decline after England's decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967. Some derivative slang remains in the English lexicon, such as "camp," "fruit(y)," and "zhoosh." Berdis considers sewing and embellishment to be queer-coded visuals, particularly through the addition of sequences, tulle, glitter, bright colors, and dynamic textures. The fabric was dyed in collaboration with Kutztown University Textiles and Weaving Club during Berdis's recent residency. The artist describes their quilts and sculptures as "gay ghosts," reimagining death portraiture outside of morbidity. Berdis's practice embraces optimism within contemporary queer visibility.

Website: www.ericanthonyberdis.com

Social Media: @ericanthonyberdis

Blue Braids, 2022

Textile

Hide & Seek, 2022

Textile

Frosted Pink, 2022

Textile

Don't Let Them Clip Your Tiny Little Insect Wings, 2018 - 2022

Textile, collaborative workshop

Doug Eberhardt

Doug Eberhardt teaches at Allegheny College and Butler County Community College while sustaining an independent practice in printmaking and illustration. The artist uses silkscreen printing and digital illustration for all work featured in Kaleidoscope (2023). Silkscreen printing consists of crafting stencils for a mesh screen to manipulate ink distribution. Multiple screens are used to create colorful layers on paper. Eberhardt’s Window (2021-22) series incorporates stone lithography and photolithography in addition to silkscreen printing. Stone and photolithography use acid to etch the surface of a stone or plate. The etched surface then receives ink while the unetched portions resist it. Multiple layers can be printed using multiple plates and stones to create colorful rich prints. Nocturnes (2021-22) portrays surreal landscapes after dark. The prints present night as a world shrouded in mystery and obscured by darkness. His Window (2021-22) series considers common interests between rural and city environments, depicted over four seasons. Call of the Void (2022) is “[a] series of naturalistic illustrations from the unknowable astral plane,” handmade and bound with neon colors. Eberhardt presents himself through his Voidboy character floating through an unfamiliar world, oscillating between documenting observations and pausing to take in the scenery. Many creatures in the “void” bear resemblance to Northwestern Pennsylvania wildlife, like the Great Blue Heron, but with notable ghoulish features. Eberhardt lives and works in Meadville and plans to venture into animation and videography in the near future.

Website: www.voidboy.art

Social Media: @voidboy.art

Call of the Void, 2022

Silkscreen Printed book

Nocturne, Waterfall, 2022

Silkscreen Print

Window, Summer, 2021

Photolithography

Window, Fall, 2021

Photolithography

Window, Winter, 2022

Silkscreen Print

Window, Spring, 2021

Lithography and Silkscreen Print

Nocturne, Blood Moon, 2022

Silkscreen Print

Brenna Thummler

Brenna Thummler leads a successful career as a graphic novelist. Ghost Resort (2014) was completed during Thummler’s undergraduate degree at Ringling College of Art and Design and marks her foray into illustrating the spooky subject matter prevalent in her published novels. All a Flutter (2022) and Just Another Sunday Brunch (2022) began as illustrations for her senior thesis and were recently updated to reflect her current style. Eliza Loads Film (2021), Eliza’s Darkroom 1 & 2 (2021), Night at Finster Bay (2021), and The Next Morning 1 & 2 (2021) depict stills from Delicates (2021), the sequel to her first original graphic novel, Sheets (2018). Thummler’s storylines intertwine the common threads of mental health and whimsy within a familiar yet curious universe. She considers her work a “love letter” to small towns, particularly her hometown of Meadville. Much of the imagery within both her published and unpublished pieces references familiar regional architecture and scenery, including the buildings of Geneva-on-the-Lake and the Allegheny College darkroom. The artist uses heavy detail and soft pastel tones to allow viewers to feel present in otherworldly spaces. Thummler currently works out of Erie and has two more books set to be published in 2023 and 2025.

Kaleidoscope

January 13th - February 24th, 2023

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