Join us on Friday, April 12th, from 5-8 pm, to celebrate the opening of our new exhibition “The Flood May Bear Me Far”, featuring the art of Mary Fortuna and Adrian Hatfield.

View the art and enjoy a drink and good conversation.

Twilight and evening bell,
   And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
   When I embark;

For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
   The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
   When I have crossed the bar.

                                                   — Alfred, Lord Tennyson from the poem “Crossing the Bar”

Mary Fortuna recently moved to Traverse City from the Detroit Area. She currently works primarily in soft sculpture and textiles. She has exhibited her work all over Michigan, nationally and internationally.

“I make puppets and dolls and animals and fantastic creatures of all kinds. I work in any medium that catches my interest, two or three dimensional, to make whatever I can conjure up. I’m more interested in the objects themselves than in any single, specific narrative. My visual vocabulary draws from world mythology, the spirit world as conceived by people everywhere, and the infinite variety of life forms that make up the natural and supernatural worlds. In recent years I have concentrated mostly on fabric and textiles. Many works take the form of flags or banners, embellished with embroidery, beads, buttons, found objects, and other materials.” – Mary Fortuna

Adrian Hatfield received an MFA in painting/drawing from Ohio University and his work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country. He teaches art at Wayne State University.

“My work is fueled by anxiety about our current environmental crisis, and it reflects an attempt to view these events through the lens of geologic time.

I may experience enduring dismay at the prospects of rising oceans, shrinking agricultural production, increased natural disasters and mass extinction, but I also recognize that the processes of life and evolution will continue with or without us. New ecosystems will emerge and new species will thrive. I find this process inspiring and immensely beautiful, as well as a bit comforting in the face of potential disaster.

I try to convey both the dread, the splendor, along with the absurdity of human inaction in work that samples and recombines elements from art history, illustration, and pop culture.” – Adrian Hatfield

This exhibition is made possible by the support of Artpack Services Inc. and GLP Financial Group.