The Chazan Gallery @ Wheeler will be presenting a group show entitled Textural Nature featuring emerging artists Alice O'Neill, Jennifer Daltry, Chris Kyle, Amelia Hankin from February 20 - March 19, 2009. There will be an opening reception for the artists on Friday, February 20 from 5 - 7 p.m. The public is invited.

Alice O’Neill uses photography to investigate what shapes and motivates human emotion, fantasy and behavior. She finds her muse in the figure. Using this as a premise for this series, O’Neill explores the conviction of the speaker/photographer in a medium that so often manipulates the truth and what the viewer may see while viewing her work. O’Neill is currently working on her Masters of Art in Printmaking and Professional practice at the University of Brighton/ London Print Studio in London. She received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from RISD and has exhibited locally. For more information on the artist please click here.

Jennifer Daltry draws inspiration from nature. Her black and white pen and ink drawings and etchings reflect her interest in nature and its perseverance and adaptation to the effects of humans. Her imagery includes vast wintry landscapes, quiet abodes and reflective familiar animals set in a soft shadowy atmosphere. Daltry received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from RISD. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. For more information on the artist please click here.

Chris Kyle’s ceramic sculptures are animated yet personal. With surfaces resembling fur or the tentacles of a sea anemone, a closer look reveals layer upon layer of encaustic wax enveloping organically shaped mounds of varying shapes and sizes, sliced with a rectangular hollow channel. The channels allude to the relationship between the comfort and safety of being contained and the importance of being open to the external and the unknown. Kyle received her MFA from the Art Institute of Boston and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She has exhibited in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Amelia Hankin uses decorative, repetitive imagery as a way to address political or social themes. Her prints reflect her respect for the history and the technique and craftsmanship of the Japanese woodblock medium. Hankin received her Master’s of Fine Arts with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design and her Bachelor of Arts from the College of Wooster. She has exhibited widely throughout the US including the University of Richmond Museum, the Xavier University Art Gallery and the Providence Art Club. For more information on the artist please visit: http://ameliahankin.com/