FLORA + FAUNA ENCHANTED FOREST
Group show with works by Amadeo Gjrra, Luanne Witkowski, Gin Stone, and Mark Adams
Opening Reception: Friday, August 22 from 5 - 7 PM
On Exhibit through September 1
The Commons
46 Bradford Street, Provincetown
Amadeo Gjurra
PRODUCER . DESIGNER . PERFORMER .
ABOUT ME
Amadeo Gjurra is a queer immigrant filmmaker from Albania, who documents the vibrant nightlife of Provincetown, MA, where he currently lives. With a background in UX/UI design and theatrical/vocal performance, his work combines documentary film, entertainment, and activism. Amadeo’s interdisciplinary practice amplifies queer voices across media platforms, using films as catalysts for change. Recent projects focus on increasing the visibility of queer identities within the pole dancing industry and communities, aligning with his commitment to inclusivity and empowerment.
GIN STONE
I will inhale smoke and exhale butterflies
Statement:
As an interdisciplinary artist, I work in fiber, painting, pen and ink, hand and machine sewing and mixed media constructions/installations that bear the weight of environmental activism and animal advocacy. I have also used photography to document the work of environmentalists. My current interest is focused on the concepts of the bardo experience occurring in the animal world, what animism means and what that means to the humans that cause death either directly or indirectly.
My materials have included salvaged ghost gear (a hazardous form of marine debris that endangers the oceanic environment from the surface tension at the top of tumultuous waves to the darkest pressures on the sea floor), recycled and antique textiles and furs (both being grotesque and beautiful in their own ways), and found/collected/border-line-hoarded objects.
By appreciating the fleeting beauty of what is, it imparts one with the angst and ennui of a knowledge of its faulty adaptability in a roiling sea of manmade change.
Luanne E Witkowski
Studio Visit with Luanne E Witkowski
Artist Statement
Clarity
The daily routines of walking through forests, parks, and countryside of wildlife, flora and fauna followed by engagement with city streets, glass and artificial light interweave and inform as Witkowski creates and explores the interaction and juxtaposition of various materials. In doing so, she recalls the shared experiences grounded in each of us-- creating a perceptual and spiritual relationship for recognition of and solace for the self. This approach to the identification of the individual with landscape and environment is enlarged by a desire to discover and contact the particular indwelling essence or energy of clarity.
This body of work is a response to the world around and within us. The relationships are interwoven. Nature’s handiwork impresses and informs all matter –present and passed, permanent and ephemeral, physical and virtual. Layers of materials and recollection create perceptual and spiritual relationships that serve as a locus for grounding, recognition, and solace. In her March 2023 solo exhibit, Clarity, Witkowski reflects on shared isolation, the impacts of repetitious exposure, and salvation. She uses both found natural materials and fabricated cast-offs and scraps, focusing on composition, recurrent pattern, minimalist form, and color to create a response to the fragile systems of beauty and the power that exist in both the natural world and urban landscapes. All of this is accessible through the contemplative creative process of perception and felt by us when we allow ourselves to relax and use our five senses.