Object Empathy
April 1 — April 24, 2021
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Virtual Curatorial Talk Kiah Butcher - Thursday April 7th, starting at 6 PM.
A Sentimental Thing: An Exploration of What Things Mean To Us - April 21 at 7:00 PM - an interactive, community-based show & tell inspired by the theme behind the exhibition
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Rough Gems is Union Hall’s annual open call and collaborative curatorial program. Each year we select three teams to showcase a pop-up exhibition in our gallery. Object Empathy is the third and final exhibition in the 2021 Rough Gems series. With Rough Gems, Union Hall hopes to impact the lives of emerging artists and curators with a platform for exhibition that is inclusive, supportive, and committed to the artists we serve by paying them for exhibitions and performances.
Curated by Kiah Butcher, Object Empathy features three Colorado-based artists whose work explores and reimagines sentimentality through intimate and personal practices. Alongside their artworks, personal effects are displayed as ‘human artifacts’ building a bridge between empathy and objectivity.
About the Artists + Curator
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Alejandra Abad
was born in Venezuela and partially raised in Florida. She is an interdisciplinary artist with a penchant for dense, fantastical landscapes and abstract shapes. Her style is informed by her studies in Architecture at Florida Atlantic University and in Film, Video, and New Media at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received her BFA. In 2018 she received a fellowship at CU Boulder, where she is currently pursuing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices. Currently she is part of the 2020-2021 Engaged Arts and Humanities Graduate Student Scholars cohort at CU Boulder. Her recent projects feature conceptual and collaborative pieces that work to break down the barriers between artist and audience. She creates honest and symbolic narratives in a visual language that depicts fragmentation, mythology, and folklore. Her installations use analog and digital processes – including painting, animation, sculpture, etc. – to make immersive environments that reflect her identity and values.
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Marco Cousins
is a visual designer by trade, specializing in UX/UI design. When not solving for client’s needs, he uses multi-disciplinary design methods to create for fun using photography, print/layout design, and other analogue mediums. Motivated by empathy, mindfulness, and the desire to be helpful, he is an avid practitioner of storytelling through art and creative direction. Having earned his BFA in Communication Design from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in 2016, he has been working as a visual design and brand development specialist on a freelance basis over the last 4 years. More recently, he has transitioned to UX/UI design in the hopes of helping to create a more equitable and accessible world.
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Daniel M. Granitto
returned to his hometown of Lakewood, Colorado in 2016 after living and working in Chicago, Illinois for six years where he received his BFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Granitto’s works have been exhibited in galleries and museums spanning the western United States. Daniel currently works out of his home studio in Lakewood where he lives with his wife and two kids. His paintings and drawings are based on photos that he takes while moving through daily life. Having a direct and personal relationship with the subject is essential for Daniel, which is why he works exclusively from his own photos. His approach to subject matter is born out of a practiced disposition of receptivity, passing through the days with my hands open, expectant and ready to receive the gift.
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Kiah Butcher
CURATOR
A native of Denver, CO, Kiah Butcher graduated from the University of Colorado Denver (2014), where she earned a B.A. in Film Production. She has presented films in the Denver International Film Festival and the Stanley Film Festival. Butcher is an active member within the Colorado art scene, primarily working with new media, video and photography. Focused on the passing of time, repetition and the human attention span, Butcher uses theatrical conventions to create and celebrate work that unites viewers in small, timeless moments.