We welcome the kickoff of the fall arts season in Indy with an artist reception from 6 to 10pm on Friday, September 1. The Harrison Gallery features “Undercurrent”, new work by Alicia Zanoni. “The show explores the idea of living in the present as we are constantly caught between memory and imagination – a tension that pulls us back and forth between a whole gamut of emotions: dread and anxiety, excitement and confidence, confusion and numbness. Imagery will be a mix of figure charcoal drawings, landscapes, and abstracts.” A mixed media painter, Zanoni focuses on landscapes, cityscapes and human figures. She is drawn to color and light, always trying to find surprising elements in familiar scenes and conversely, familiar elements in abstract scenes. She is after a visual language for life – a language which, like words, offers meaning, but unlike words which are bound to definitions, connects with our undefined, deeply felt experiences.

Plein air painter Vivian Gladden returns to the City Gallery with her show, “Classic Indianapolis.” Gladden says of her work, “Working in oil and pastel describing nature and objects in a naturalistic-impressionistic style, my influence is the weather, trees, atmosphere and lay of the land.” For this show, Gladden has captured familiar Indy scenes, from famous monuments to the new Julia Carson Transit Center.

Photographer William A. Rasdell pairs DNA results with photographs, documents and audio/video media to explore the relationships that we all share in his exhibit, “Interconnectedness: A DNA Project” in the Speck Gallery.

The Gallery Annex features “Into the Wild, Blue Yonder” by Tom Butters. Hank & Dolly’s Gallery presents “Prints on Parade!” with work by Hullabaloo Press. In the Underground, artist Nathan Foxton curates a still life group show titled “Transcending the Tabletop,” with works that use still life to explore formal and expressive possibilities. The artists in this exhibition present practices that are active and inquisitive, transcending the ordinary.

Throughout the building, attendees are invited to explore the studios of the Harrison Center’s 36 in-house artists.

Also, that evening, guests are invited to join local ukulele aficionado Geoff Davis in the gym for an old-fashioned sing-along.
The work hangs through September 29.

Image: Restless, Alicia Zanoni.