Fabio J. Fernández moderates a discussion between Virginia-based Margaret Meehan and Detroit-based Alison Wong. We’ll hear a bit about their respective practices along the artist-curator spectrum.
Register now.
JULY 17 – OCTOBER 24, 2021
Artists: Megan Angolia, Endia Beal, Susie Brandt, Barbara Campbell Thomas, Caitlin Cherry, Joan Cox, Helen Criales, Erika Diamond, Erin Fostel, Amy Herzel, Amy Hughes Braden, Susan Jamison, Sue Johnson, Julia Kwon, Margaret Meehan, Ambrose Murray, Meg Stein, Nastassja Swift, SHAN Wallace.
Amplify focuses on the experiences of woman-identifying artists in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. Virginia MOCA curators have connected with curatorial colleagues and asked them to share their recommendations of woman-identifying artists who are exploring identity and the gendered roles of women. Constructs regarding a woman’s identity can be complicated and loaded with political agendas and nuances; yet they are also fascinating, beautiful, and filled with joy when embraced in all their forms. Through a variety of media and approaches, the artists in Amplify explore some of the many aspects of what it is to be a woman. They reveal common themes from an intersectional, and deeply personal lens.
Virginia MOCA curators took inspiration from a strategy first developed by women staffers of the Obama administration when their contributions were overlooked at meetings. When one woman spoke up or offered an idea, another would both recognize and repeat it. They called this strategy “amplification.” By persistently supporting one another, they were heard. This exhibition’s goal is the same. Virginia MOCA will echo the work and ideas of the artists in Amplify. Through the exhibition, programming, and online platforms, their voices will become louder, and they will be heard.
Kendall Morgan reviews After Laughter at Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas. p. 31-35
The Work: Margaret Meehan, Mercy Mercy Me (For Greta), 2020
Location: Conduit Gallery, Dallas — Meehan’s solo exhibition After Laughter, through April 3.
To be human is to be flawed. Yet in our supposed imperfections we are complete beings, faultlessly diverse in our genetics and personal histories. Recognizing our shared humanity, despite or because of our differences, should not be dismissed as new-age blather; it is more than a facile self-help tenet to acknowledge and value our idiosyncrasies of shape and character. Margaret Meehan’s Mercy Mercy Me (For Greta) is a wonderfully effective sculpture that embodies this wisdom. It stands as a totem honoring our quirks of being while accepting the paradoxical similarity and discrepancies of our lives.
Focused on new mixed media ceramic sculptures and collaged drawings, this body of work was created during the global Covid-19 pandemic, the United States’ recent political unrest and the reawakening of the Black Lives Matter movement; born from outcries against anti-black violence and systemic racism.
While these issues are not the dominant subject matter of Meehan’s work, they played an important role in her understanding of why and how to find connection in the face of social and political trauma on both a personal and global scale. After Laughter reflects on a year of isolation, personal loss, and the absurdity of tears that come suddenly from both sadness and joy. It explores themes surrounding mourning, longing, transition and hope with humorous and melancholy imagery.