Central College presents “Facades of Space Once Shared,” an exhibition by Julie McLaughlin, at the Mills Gallery in the Lubbers Center for the Visual Arts on Central’s campus in Pella.
The event will open Monday, March 25, and run until Thursday, April 18. The public is invited to an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the gallery. The Mills Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
McLaughlin is an Iowa artist who brings an education in printmaking and experience as a theatre costume designer to her sculptural works in handmade paper.
Her passion for pushing the boundaries between paper and textiles has grown from sculptural work based on the corseted silhouette to wearable paper garments using large 6-foot by 9-foot sheets of paper made with Kozo fiber. Currently, she is using the shape of the kimono as her matrix for both sculptural and wearable art. Her work is shown internationally.
“I am drawn to the simplicity of the kimono silhouette and to the complexity of the traditions surrounding it,” she says. “I often create background stories relating to a piece as I am working, but I expect viewers to create their own stories as they connect with or interpret my work.”
Visit the McLaughlin’s website at www.mcjuliestudios.com.
