Mass Wasting, an installation by Garry Noland

MOUNT VERNON – Mass Wasting, a mixed media installation by Kansas City artist Garry Noland, will be exhibited at the Peter Paul Luce Gallery at Cornell College Feb. 22 through March 22.

An artist’s reception and gallery talk will be held Sunday, Feb. 22, 2 to 5 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 2 to 4 p.m.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Noland’s installation, Mass Wasting, unfolds through a variety of media. “Slope Failures,” a series of pencil and charcoal drawings, reference the geological phenomenon of downward movement of soil and debris caused by gravity. The drawings in this exhibition refer to one such example in Penn Valley Park, Kansas City, Mo.

The subtractive and additive nature of erosion and sedimentation inform the three-dimensional work in this exhibition as well. Stacked layers of National Geographic magazine mimic the kind of recordkeeping seen in sedimentary “pages” of limestone. Stacks of televisions lean into corners broadcasting a signal of undetermined origin. Two Morse code-based works illustrate communication—or lack thereof—with titles like “Homeland Security,” and “Failed Study for the Alphabet.” Another sculpture, “Ramp,” is a three-dimensional interpretation of elements seen in “Slope Failure,” echoing the tilt of the stacked sets. Most of the non-drawing pieces share the element of forms being masked or altered, obscuring the message and method of delivery.

Noland has exhibited his work in numerous venues nationally, including the Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College; the Anchorage Museum of History and Art; Veridian Gallery, N.Y.; Union Gallery, San Francisco State University; C.J. Smith Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.; and countless venues in the Kansas City area. His work is included in notable collections at Grinnell College, the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Continental Insurance Company, N.Y., and the University of Missouri, Saint Louis.

This exhibition is funded through the generosity of the Henry Luce Foundation. For more information contact Sue Coleman at scoleman@cornellcollege.edu or (319) 895-4491.

For more information on Garry Noland, visit his Web site.