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Running Gallery hosts Minneapolis artist's 'eddy line' installation

The newest art installation in Concordia College’s Cyrus M. Running Gallery bends and twists, evoking the shifting river currents that give Erika Terwilliger’s “eddy line” its name.

Despite their apparent organic fluidity, the objects on display are all made from silvery aluminum ductwork, a resilient industrial material deconstructed and transformed into twisting, chaotic shapes by the artist.

“Her work puts unusual materials in a new light, often asking the viewer to have a new relationship with the material,” said Dwight Mickelson, adjunct instructor of 3D/sculpture in the art department. “Contemporary sculptors often challenge viewers with the material language created by placing objects in a new context. Erika’s sensitivity to materials is born out of careful and rigorous study of natural or everyday materials.”

Erika TerwilligerTerwilliger’s “eddy line” will be on display at the Running Gallery from Tuesday, Sept. 1, through Thursday, Oct. 1, with a public reception set for 4-5:30 p.m. and artist remarks at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 1.

The installation examines sites of environmental and architectural accumulation, built from ventilation ductwork carefully wrapped around tree branches to form shells of the source. By mapping each turn, split, knot, and texture of the chosen tree in aluminum, the artist presents a handcrafted transformation of the original. The work holds a material conversation between the natural and constructed world with a bit of breathing room in between.

“Where does the combination of form and material take you? Is there a contradiction at play here? or more of a conversation?” Terwilliger asked. “Consider space. The forms in this show are just as much about their interior as their exterior. Get up close and look inside each individual piece. Why are some parts left open and others closed? Where does light get let in, and where does it get reflected back?”

The Minneapolis-based artist encouraged viewers to consider the empty space and the connections of the objects in the exhibition, and to look at the same pieces both up close and further away.

“This exhibition is a space for curiosity and open association. I’d encourage visitors to engage with the work without any pressure of finding specific answers,” Terwilliger said. “Trust that the artist is bringing intention, invention, and a deep love of making things by hand. What are you, the visitor, bringing into the space?”

That doesn’t just mean ideas, either. Terwilliger’s exhibition took significant physical and mental labor as she wrapped aluminum around tree trunks and branches, pressed it into a bark-like texture, and then had to tape all the seams back together to recreate branch forms.

“When I first started making the objects for this show, I had no idea what the final result would look like. The work found its form through the small acts of transformation that occur within this repetitive, embodied way of making,” she said. “Similar to the process used in making this work, I’d like for your experience of the show to be both mentally and physically engaged. As you navigate through the exhibition, consider movement both in yourself and in the work. Pay attention to the path you take through the space. Is there a story in the way you move? Is there a story in the way the objects move? As you’re looking, leave your mind open to any memory that floats by, and don’t be afraid to jump in.”

The Cyrus M. Running Gallery is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays.

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