PINKPROGRESSION: COLLABORATIONS at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities from July 2 – November 8, 2020. 

This exhibit incorporates a fusion of narratives through collaborative artwork. These multidimensional works emphasize the collective issues that confront us and the transformational ways of finding common ground. One hundred years ago, the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s right to vote, was ratified. This historic centennial offers us the opportunity to commemorate a milestone, recognize the consecutive dates in which all women attained the right to vote in America, and explore the complex struggle for universal suffrage today. Pink Progression: Collaborations features ideas of feminism, equality, inclusivity, gender identity, unity, community, and more. Over 150 artists, writers, dancers, and musicians utilize the power of networks to inspire social change.

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"Motherland," a collaboration with Jessica Drenk was our contribution to the exhibition. 

Two luminous carved sculptures encrusted with hollow pink forms stretch vertically in the galleries at the Arvada Center. Between the sculptures, these small pink forms crawl up the sides and spill out the bottom. Julie Maren and Jessica Drenk took inspiration from a series of trips to New Mexico, exploring rocks and canyons together. "Motherland" is both a collaboration that captures their perceptions of creative expansion and spirituality experienced in the desert, and is informed by the contractive backdrop of the pandemic. Collaborating in the time of Covid meant working at home during quarantine instead of together, and with limited materials. This surreal landscape, invites the viewer to contemplate its antipodal forms and layers of meaning. 

 

mixed media and styrofome

2020