REGENERATIONS, A Conversation between Artists Meg Bloom and Cyra Levenson

[Jen Payne]

For artists Meg Bloom and Cyra Levenson, regeneration is the process by which the seen and the experienced becomes art. The exhibit, REGENERATIONS, is a conversation between the two artists, and an exploration of the common language they speak through experiences and image making. It will be on view at City Gallery from March 31 - April 30, with an Opening Reception on Saturday, April 1, 3pm - 5pm.

 

Meg Bloom is a sculptor, installation and mixed media artist. Finding beauty in the imperfect, acknowledging moments of change, and engaging with the process of transformation form the basis of her work. Her abstract art references nature, whether human or otherwise, often addressing broader social and environmental issues. Her works in this show are handmade paper and kozo fiber sculptures as well as 2D mixed media paintings. 

 

“As we each experience our surroundings and their visual-emotional-sensual effects, there is an external and an internal dialogue that takes place,” says Bloom. “There is a conscious process —a physical taking in of an experience, acknowledging it, witnessing the change, the deterioration, and then the regeneration, the re-creation, in the form of art.”

Cyra Levenson is an artist and an educator. She believes creativity is a birthright and works to help others believe that too. Her own practice is the recording of an experience of a place or a thing, most often found in nature. Her works in this show were made in response to a week spent in the northernmost town in Iceland on the Arctic Circle called Raufarhöfn. 

 

“These images were made from a place I didn’t know I was looking for and didn’t want to leave. Losing yourself feels good sometimes. Especially if it's in a tangle of vines, or the ghost of a winter garden, or the warm crater of a very old volcano,” says Levenson. “Meg and I look at things that other people might see as decay and find beauty.”

 

In that way, REGENERATIONS reflects the experiences of both artists in the (natural) environments of physical, emotional, and family spaces. It’s an exploration of a common language they speak through image making and an appreciation of each other’s unique voices.

 

The show is free and open to the public, and runs March 31 - April 30, 2023. An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, April 1, 3pm - 5pm. City Gallery is located at 994 State Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Gallery hours are Friday - Sunday, 1pm - 4 pm, or by appointment. City Gallery follows New Haven City’s mask mandate policy. For further information please contact City Gallery, [e-mail], www.city-gallery.org.