The Cornell College Peter Paul Luce Gallery will present “Be still, life.” by Cornell College professor and artist Susannah Biondo-Gemmell from Aug. 28 to Oct. 4.
In this multidisciplinary exhibition, Biondo-Gemmell uses ceramic and textile works to explore her own experience of motherhood as it intersects with historical still-life painting and the concept of memento mori (a Latin phrase that means “remember that you must die”). Central to the exhibition is the reuse and recontextualization of the materials and objects from her own children’s early years. The work examines the fleeting nature of life and how caregivers and children assign value during early childhood. Themes of memory, nostalgia, care, and impermanence permeate the exhibition. References to the domestic space and experience are present visually and thematically.
Developed during Biondo-Gemmell's sabbatical semester, the exhibition grew from research conducted while traveling abroad to study historical works of art, followed by an intensive period of studio practice in her McWethy art studio. Throughout the process, she embraced a sustainable studio practice by repurposing existing materials and emphasizing experimentation, play, and risk-taking as essential components of her creative process.
Biondo-Gemmell has been a professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Cornell College since 2010. She teaches courses in 3D design, sculpture, ceramics, and community-engaged art, in addition to senior capstone coursework, including the studio art senior seminar. For more than a decade, Biondo-Gemmell's creative practice has examined the contemporary maternal experience through the lens of art historical objects and imagery. Ceramic material experimentation has remained central to her work since the beginning of her artistic career, while her recent practice has expanded to include mixed-media and textile-based works. Biondo-Gemmell earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramic Art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her work has been exhibited at the NCECA Conference, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Northern Clay Center, the Archie Bray Foundation, the San Diego Museum of the Living Artist, and the LUX Center for the Arts.
Biondo-Gemmell will discuss her work at an artist lecture on Friday, Aug. 28, at 3:30 p.m. in McWethy Hall’s Lecture Hall, Room 222. Following the lecture, a reception for “Be still, life.” will take place in the Luce Gallery from 4 to 6 p.m. Both the lecture and reception are free and open to the public.
Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. Luce Gallery is located in McWethy Hall on the Cornell College campus. For additional information, contact Luce Gallery Coordinator Brooks Cashbaugh (bcashbaugh@cornellcollege.edu).