New Foosaner Exhibition Explores Form and Material

Imagining Reality Opens Aug. 23 with Artists From the Coasts

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Imagining Reality, the newest exhibition at the Foosaner Art Museum, features the contemporary works of California-based Kathleen Elliot and Massachusetts-based Huguette Despault May.

The show opens Aug. 23 and remains in place through Oct. 12. Gallery Talk featuring both artists will be held at 10:30 a.m. on the opening day. The event is free with museum admission.

Elliot’s sculptures of imaginary plant life are made of flame-worked glass. They capture the essence of leaves, flowers, fruit and vines, while reimagining nature in personally expressive works. Elliot emphasizes the connection between botanical life and the human body through suggestive forms and sinuous lines.

Elliot lives in the San Francisco Bay area of California. She studied art at San Jose State University and De Anza College and spent three summers at the Pilchuk Glass School in Stanwood, Wash., studying with Laura Donefer, Robert Mickelsen and Shane Fero.

May’s large-scale charcoal drawings, called the Hawser Series, use close-ups and different points of view to focus on a single piece of industrial hawser rope. Through drawings and photographs, May emphasizes both the rope’s deterioration from intensive use and the integrity of its remaining structure. The anatomy of the worn rope suggests the human body and its muscles and sinews beneath the surface.

A New Bedford, Mass., resident, May earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine art from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a professional photographer of works of art, including digital restoration.

The Foosaner exhibition is organized through Katharine T. Carter & Associates.

The Foosaner Art Museum is located at 1463 Highland Ave. in the Eau Gallie Arts District of Melbourne. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (the museum stays open until 7 p.m. Thursday); and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, children and students with I.D. Museum members and Florida Tech faculty, staff and students are free with I.D. Thursdays offer free admission all day. Phone number is (321) 674-8916 or visit foosanerartmuseum.org for more information.

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