`Guardians' exhibit delves into loss, grief and healing
Davis-based artist Ann Savageau's exhibit, “Guardians: Spirits of Protection,” is on display through April 27 at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F St., Eureka.
An Arts Alive! reception is slated for April 6 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Savageau is a mixed-media artist and teacher whose career spans over 45 years. Her work focuses on the intersection of the natural and manmade worlds. It is in this space that she finds the most interesting issues, processes and statements. She focuses on the natural materials and manmade detritus that are routinely discarded as worthless, combining and transforming them into new entities that bear the marks of their origins, history and alteration.
The underlying theme in Savageau's work is the inherent worthiness of all matter and rejection of a hierarchy of values, and the urgent need to take the necessary steps to preserve the ecosystem.
Savageau began creating the “Guardian: Spirits of Protection” series in 2018 after the death of her sole surviving child, as a way of coping with the profound loss of her three children. The project took 2½ years to complete. As the artist worked, she expanded the content to include protection from climate change, species extinction, the COVID-19 pandemic, social injustice and war. The 17 life-size figures of animals and humans are composite beings fashioned from castoff materials, including driftwood and found objects.
The Guardian's messages of loss, grief and healing are intended to inspire the viewer and it is Savageau's hope the element of community involvement will enrich and deepen the installation at the Morris Graves Museum of Art.
The Morris Graves Museum of Art is open to the public noon to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is by donation: $5 for adults; $2 for seniors (age 65 and over), military veterans and students with ID; and free for children 17 and under, families with an EBT card and valid ID and museum members. Admission is free for everyone on the first Saturday of every month, including Arts Alive!
As the artist worked, she expanded the content to include protection from climate change, species extinction, the COVID-19 pandemic, social injustice and war. The 17 life-size figures of animals and humans are composite beings fashioned from castoff materials, including driftwood and found objects.