Zoe Elwood and Sidney vanNeerden capture the fleeting movements of life, nature, and emotion in their artworks. They illuminate instability through natural forms as seen in black-and-white prints and photographs. Intentional disruption exists with both artists as they manipulate their environment. The pigment shifts as a print is pressed into paper, the wind causes ripples in water and flurries of snow, and thrown stones create splashes. In black-and-white, time is suspended. A sense of coldness falls over the pieces, contrasted with the bright whites of the untouched areas.

Zoe Elwood uses black-and-white lithograph and monotype prints paired with charcoal works to depict personal stories. Many of the works involve layers of different images printed atop one other. This repetition forces slower, more intentional viewing. The work asks for connection and an appreciation of the fleeting, and sometimes unpleasant, aspects of life. Lost in a blizzard or the sunset, the line between thought and reality blurs. Some of Elwood’s work is not directly in nature, but reveals curving forms and scenes framed only by sunlight. Even when the art is not directly natural, it lies perfectly within nature, as all things do.

Sidney vanNeerden connects humanity with nature in black-and-white photography. To capture lost moments, she invites the viewer to slow down, take a lingering breath, and appreciate the surrounding world. Each piece portrays water as it has been disturbed. The reflection of the trees and sky ripples over the water as it is manipulated. The stoic trees wobble and warp across the water’s surface and are hidden by shifting bubbles. The edges of the seemingly everlasting trees blur, and small leaves are lost in the reflection. The viewer is absorbed into nature as they imagine themselves throwing stones.

Life in Still encourages us to consider and appreciate the world around us. The instability of each moment seems frozen in time; behaving as both eternal calm and chaos. Where Elwood depicts tiny moments that seem to soothe every growing storm, vanNeerden captures all the movement at once before it resolves. Together, the paintings urge the viewer to imagine the stills expanded into full scenes. Looking carefully, the water appears to ripple and the wind blows. Both artists piece layers together to define the split second of a moment. So often, we are lost in our own lives and worlds, forgetting the beauty all around us. Elwood and vanNeerden bring that beauty to the foreground, centering it for our reflection and appreciation.

-- Curatorial statement by Roselyn Walsh