June Gallery Exhibit :

Jill Mulholland and Greg Carrigan for Pride Month

June 10 - July 2

Astoria Visual Arts celebrates Pride Month with local artists Jill Mulholland and Greg Carrigan, who each use assemblage and light in their artwork to create striking and thought-provoking visual images.

Mulholland, a light artist, has been captivated by the power of light and its ability to help people feel emotion for over 20 years. For this exhibit, she will debut a new series of hanging pieces titled “Fun with Faces, Fish and Flowers” that are constructed using plastic and dichroic glass that changes color with the angle of light. “Pointy Headed Guy” seems like a happy, goofy dude, but change your position or wait for a moment, and other reflected faces emerge from the same piece— one a deranged villain, diabolically laughing.

“The works were spontaneous, and the reflections were always a surprise to me,” says Mulholland, who documented the reflections in photographs that will be exhibited along with each piece. Mulholland often speaks passionately about the impact of light on spaces and people; she explains in her statement, “When we experience the visual symphony of a sunset, the entire sky slowly changing color, we stop in awe and feel its beauty. The absence of light at night can incite fear, the shimmer of sunlight on the water (and in sequined clothing) is celebratory, the glow of stained-glass windows in churches can inspire introspection.” Muholland has a PhD in Architecture from Texas A&M University where she taught design studies, a Masters in Interior Architecture from the University of Oregon, and she formerly worked for the non-profit International Association of Lighting Designers that furthers architectural lighting education.

Greg Carrigan, a multimedia artist from Astoria, began his venture into the art world while attending the University of Nevada in Las Vegas in the 1970s. Together with his classmates, Carrigan created mega installations using discarded refuse found in the desert. That experience forged his path as an assemblage artist. His current series titled “Fashion” explores the saturation and extravagance of the textile industry. Extremely detailed collage assemblages, often completed with mica, add a dazzle of refracted light, a sparkle atop the chaos of imagery that composes each piece. “Eyes Pouring Over Jewels with Time Falling Out the Bottom” shows an abstract form made of collaged gemstones, eyeballs, and clocks. Seen from afar, it is all just a colorful shape with a flashy sheen, but explore closer to reveal a conglomeration of bits of collage, taped together.      

“This show is centered around the fashion industry and I want the viewers to come to their own conclusions about what each piece is saying,” explains Carrigan, who frequently gravitates to making artwork inspired by a cause or with a political message. Although Carrigan explores the darker side of the fashion industry with many in this series, his lighthearted, charming personality and sense of humor also cannot help but shine through in his work.