"Dear President: An Art Show about Important American Issues" is a potent and pertinent gathering of 50 artists. Using a variety of mediums, the works exhibited focus on topics such as money in politics, climate change, women’s reproductive rights, gun control, immigration, military spending, GMOs, fracking, drug policy and more. Curator Peggy Sivert Zask says “These works of art seek to create and communicate a collective narrative, articulating who we are, where we come from, what we stand for and what we are against.” The works displayed are shown with artists’ letters to the president in a wide ranging exhibition featuring stand out pieces such as Cintia Alejandra Segovia’s “A Big Beautiful Wall,” a stunning video work that tackles issues of immigration using witty, and fresh photographic and video images. “One” by Richelle Gribble is a circular, intricate puzzle in a range of media on panel. With 91 pieces that throb with color, each represents a link in a social, biological, and technological web. Ellen November’s “House of Guns” gives us a delicate, child-like image of a capitol building constructed with guns as its infrastructure. This piece is both poignant and trenchant. Kate Carvellas combines found-art and sculpture to create a vision of American life. John Dingler employs digital media to take on the topic of money in politics, and vindictive laws directed at whistle blowers. In an adjoining gallery, curator Karrie Ross helms “The Faces Within,” another powerful group exhibition that presents personal “split screen” faces that represent the artists. The images reveal their creators mental, physical, and emotional states over the course of the election year.
