Continuing through January 12, 2020
When I think about my childhood home, the memory is more of an atmosphere than an exact interpretation. Certain objects come to mind, floating in a haze of recollection. Isadora Stowe’s multimedia work captures this sense of memory. Stowe typically starts with circular birchwood panels, signifying the cyclical transformation of nature. She then uses various mediums such as screen printing, watercolor, and spray paint to portray what she calls a “narrative syntax” of hundreds of everyday objects. Houses, airplanes, and various flora and fauna float in a candy colored haze.
Like memory, there are certain things within Stowe’s work that draw your eye deeper into the world she creates. Images are obscured by the fog of remembering. Trees emerge from the middle of houses, a given object is obscured or transformed within the layering of images. From afar the pieces look like brightly colored, abstractly patterned collages. But the closer you look, the more complex they become and the more of Stowe’s “narrative syntax” emerges. Within the installation some images emerge repeatedly from the individual pieces, creating an immersive experience that ties all of the work together. Shapes and images cover the walls, swirling in an absence of gravity.