Bridge Work 2024 | Cultivate | Exhibition Catalog

BRIDGE WORK 2024

Bridge Work is an exhibition presented by Cultivate, focusing on supporting recent art school graduates in their transition to professional artists. Initiated by Jason S. Yi and Leah Kolb, this program is a collaborative regional effort to offer opportunities for emerging artists to develop their careers by enhancing their professional networks and experiences.

This exhibition runs from April 12 to May 31 and features the works of Margaret Griffin, Elizabeth Sheeler, Julia Bradfish, Hannah Stevenson, and Ellie Garry. These artists, through their distinct artistic practices, engage with various themes and subjects.

Margaret Griffin explores the relationship between the human body and industrial elements through sculpture. Her work demonstrates an examination of physical forms and the impact of industrial processes on human life and the environment.

Ellie Garry’s works present abstract forms that represent personal struggles and the complexity of the natural world. Through her art, Garry aims to encourage viewers to reflect on their perceptions and experiences of pain, trauma, and joy.

Elizabeth Sheeler’s interdisciplinary art focuses on themes such as identity, control, and empathy. She creates environments that challenge viewers to consider their own perspectives and their interactions with the surrounding world.

Hannah Stevenson specializes in painting and fibers, creating pieces that discuss womanhood, sexuality, and the representation of women. Her work combines traditional crafts with contemporary themes, highlighting the role of women in art and society.

Julia Bradfish’s paintings and drawings explore personal identity and artistic expression. Her work is a reflection on the challenges and experiences of emerging artists, emphasizing the importance of personal growth and professional development.

Bridge Work is supported by the Michigan Arts & Culture Council and Lowell Arts. It is part of a comprehensive program that includes mentorship and collaboration with colleges and galleries across the Midwest, aiming to facilitate the professional growth of emerging artists.

BRIDGE WORK 2024 Artists

ELLIE GARRY

BIO

Ellie Garry was born in Rapid City South Dakota but has lived in various cities across the United States. She is currently based in Milwaukee WI and received her BFA from The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2023 in New Studio Practice and minor in Art Management. Garry produces around the idea of wonder and enjoys making works that push the beauty of our world into a magical realm. She conveys personal struggles, using abstract forms as visual metaphors for pain, trauma, and joy.

Garry finds the natural world to be a source of inspiration plus catharsis, inspiring both herself and art. The audience is encouraged to look beyond first impressions and see the world in its true form, full of complexities, pain, and delight.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In my work, I strive to illustrate the need to accept both the hard and soft aspects of life. Through the experience of recently receiving a formal ADHD diagnosis, I have learned to make sense of and accept the intricacies of my thought patterns and behaviors. With my meticulously crafted beaded strands and hardened fabric sculptures, I delve into the complexities of living with ADHD, and the multifaceted nature of the human brain.

These fabric sculptural pieces represent the chaotic, messy aspects of existing with ADHD. With their irregular shapes, twisted forms, and unpredictable textures, they mirror the tangled thoughts and impulses that often characterize my mind. Similar to water, my brain follows uncertain and, at times, turbulent flows, taking in its surroundings and responding in everchanging and impulsive manners. My thoughts, as my sculptures, reflect the chaos that collects and crashes over time.

In contrast, the beaded strands represent the hyperfixation and need for perfectionism that also presents itself within my inner world. Each bead is meticulously placed with the rhythmic flow of water in mind. I created the seaglass using bottles I collected from times of celebration. The strands are beaded in a symmetrical manner, making it so every strand has a center that then flows outward with a matching pair on each side. Each bead represents a droplet of clarity within the turbulent current within me.

Water becomes a metaphor for the ebb and flow of thoughts and emotions, the constant negotiation between chaos and order, and the beauty found in embracing the messy, imperfect journey of neurodiversity. Ultimately, my work shows the complexity and beauty of the human mind, an acceptance of all aspects of myself and the world around me. This body of work embraces both the chaos and order, that have often fought against each other, as one entity, seeing the need and grace of the differing qualities.

Fussy Flow, 2024

Beads, wire, seaglass

Emerald Entropy, 2024

Fabric, wood glue, chicken, wire, wood, glitter

Fussy Flow, 2024 Beads, wire, seaglass

Emerald Entropy, 2024 Fabric, wood glue, chicken, wire, wood, glitter

JULIA BRADFISH

BIO

Julia Bradfish is an artist based in Milwaukee, WI. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She has been awarded numerous scholarships during her time as a student, including the Laurence Rathsack Art Scholarship. Bradfish has curated and facilitated numerous exhibitions at local galleries.

Her work has been shown nationally in various exhibitions with the most recent being at the Allen Priebe Gallery. She is currently an artist in Plum Blossom Initiative - Bridge Work 09 cohort as well as Creative Allies.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work delves into the intricate realms of varying levels of consciousness and dissociation, seeking to articulate the profound experiences of altered reality. I aim to highlight the beauty of the mind and its power to alter one’s reality as a form of self protection. Through a dynamic interplay of color, form, and texture, I invite viewers to embark on a journey beyond the confines of conventional thought, into the mysterious depths of the psyche.

At the heart of my process lies a strong fascination with the materiality of paint and enmeshment of imagery. Just as our minds piece together disparate experiences and emotion to form our sense of self, my compositions blend layers of imagery to evoke a sense of complexity and depth. Bold gestural strokes intersect with delicate washes, evoking the flux and fluidity of the mind’s inner landscape.

Through the juxtaposition of order and chaos, structure and fluidity, my work becomes a testament to the brain’s resilience, adaptability, and continual transformation of consciousness.

Broken Lock, 2024 Oil on canvas

Primary, 2024 Oil on canvas (Right)

Polluted Puzzle, 2024 Oil on canvas (Left)

Red Rock High, 2024 Oil on canvas

MARGARET GRIFFIN

BIO

Margaret Griffin is a scupltor based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her work investigates themes of the body and industry while being visually inspired by the Post-Minimalism movement. After receiving her BFA from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Griffin was accepted into Plum Blossom initiative’s Bridge Work Professional development program, a 10-month program that assists emerging artists in transitioning from an academic setting into professional practice. In 2023, she collaborated with other artists on a public art project for Sculpture Milwaukee’s “Dear Nature” exhibition held in downtown Milwaukee. Griffin has exhibited her work throughout the Midwest, including Wisonsin, Illinoi, Missouri, and Michigan.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work investigates the relationship we have with modern industry worldwide concerning the physical labor that is demanded from workers, and how this can act as a metaphor for expressing the importance of protection for the self. Though we reap industry benefits through everyday commodities produced in such spaces, these sites often remain tucked away from our every day despite the aggressive scale we have built them up to be. Typically only blue-collar workers are engaged directly with industrial work sites, but still, we have a mutualistic relationship with them. Having built up industrial spaces and their processes to serve us, we also work to maintain their function. I explore this relationship and the conversations occurring between the physical body and industry through the use of heavy materials and weight-bearing, debris-resistant equipment that take on forms that give a nod to the figure, exposing the juxtaposition between the two while also drawing attention to the parallels between industrial spacesand the body.

Drawing inspiration from the experiences of my father, who has worked as a pipefitter for many decades, as well as my own experiences working in foundries and factories, I examine the way we conduct ourselves in such spaces—how they necessitate us to assume a position of physical strength and resilience while working within them, two qualities that are inherently held in the machines and rigorous processes carried out within industrial sites themselves. I question how we counterbalance these spaces through our position as being unavoidably at risk and vulnerable when we occupy them. Thinking of the protection and safety measures we require to subsist in these tenvironments, I expose the body’s limitations by presenting these heavy, load-bearing, and debris-resistant materials and equipment in subdued ways. Manipulating and breaking down these materials offers a reflection of our physicality; reordering them in space in a way that alludes to the figure forces what is industrial to fit inside ARTIST STATEMENT (cont.)

our position as at-risk and vulnerable. The scale of my work creates a confrontation between itself and the viewer, either taking up space and sitting at eye level, or condensing itself to a modest space on the ground where it asks to be more closely examined. I am asking the on-looker to consider how they see themselves in the work, and how the work may see itself when gazing back at them.

Foundry Mouse, 2024

Brass

Acuity, 2024 Iron (Right)

Conrete,

Accoutrements (Causatum of Touch), 2024

wood, wire, paper, drywall, welding leathers, strapping, wax, soot

Accoutrements (Causatum of Touch), 2024

Conrete, wood, wire, paper, drywall, welding

leathers, strapping, wax, soot

HANNAH STEVENSON

BIO

Hannah Stevenson is a recent BFA graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design and an emerging multidisciplinary artist whose material usage specializes in painting and fibers. Her achievements include earning her place on the university president’s list from the years of 2019-2023 and being named the 2023 fine arts excellence award winner. She participated in the Michigan Arts in the Legislature Program, a juried exhibition where her work was displayed in the Michigan Legislature Building for a full year and is a current participant in the Bridgework mentorship program.

Stevenson takes a conceptual yet explorative approach when creating her work, stitching together juxtaposing elements that contribute to an ongoing conversation about womanhood, female sexuality, and objectification. With a strong emphasis on traditional women’s craft, Stevenson strives to be taken seriously in the contemporary art world (and as a self-proclaimed “crazy cat lady”), despite her humorous handling of serious topics.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Feeling sexualized and objectified has become an overarching theme throughout my body of work. I often choose to navigate these sensitive and personal topics through the use of traditional women’s craft, linguistic comparisons and with a sense of humor. Pussy Purses investigates themes of sexualization and objectification by playing on the strange linguistic comparison often made between vulvas and coin purses, the addition of heart shaped padlocks and secret handwritten notes offer opportunities to reflect on how being made to feel like a sexual object affects how I approach intimacy and vulnerability.

The symbol of a purse is one that is easily recognizable as feminine and functional, falling into a category of objects I refer to as “mementos of womanhood”. While traditionally purses function as place holders for a lack of pockets or status symbols; Pussy Purses resemble the familiar functional object in likeness, but offer neither traditional purpose nor status. Instead, the carefully stitched satin vulvas exist as stagnant representations of intimate parts, absolved of their original purpose, put on display for the viewer to study and ponder.

Heart shaped padlocks pushed through labial folds keep the most intimate parts hidden away, photographical representations offering only glimpses at the silky interiors and hand written sentiments that lie beyond the metal clasps. Intricately stitched cat hair acts as pubic hair, while humorously playing on the negative associations made between cats, women, and female genitalia.

Through the representation of female genitalia in the form of functional objects, Pussy Purses expresses sexual objectification in literal way, while the added symbols of cat hair, padlocks, and personal writings allude to my own personal issues with intimacy and vulnerability.

Pussy Purses, 2024

Satin fabric, antique lace, padlocks, necklace , keys, letters with wax seals, cat hair

ELIZABETH SHEELER

BIO

Elizabeth Sheeler is a Madison, Wisconsin interdisciplinary artist who has been involved in multiple areas of creativity. Elizabeth was born and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas where she found her passion for art. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in 4D at The University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2022. In 2019 Elizabeth received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an emphasis in Sculpture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education with an emphasis in Printmaking.

Her work explores themes of identity, control, ownership, blindness, power, equality, and empathy. She creates environments where the participant is forced to look inward examining themselves and their environment to find their own way to an intro-perspective empathy. Her newer work will emphasis power dynamic, equality, and perception through senses other than sight. Elizabeth has attended several residency’s including at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Her work has been published in the Scout Guide Magazine and has been shown nationally and internationally including VAE Gallery: North Carolina, The Rome Center: Italy, The Kennedy Center: Virginia, and Arapahoe Community College: Colorado. Elizabeth is a recipient of the Student Support Endowment, and the James B and Susan S. Patterson Graduate Student Fellowship.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I walk into the front entrance of Fayetteville High School. I head down the L shaped hallway to my lockers. Once at my double stacked lockers, I open the top locker, and grab my algebra textbook that is 11X17 inches. I pull all seven volumes out. My hands are so full. I shove the locker door shut with my shoulder. I bend down and plop all seven volumes on the floor. I open the bottom locker and grab my math and English binder along with three volumes of my English textbook. I shut my locker door and shove my binders in my backpack. I gather all ten volumes of textbooks in my arms-almost not able to grab them all. I head two classrooms down where I find my cart. I place all my books on the bottom of the cart as the top of the cart is occupied with a box tv. The partially functioning tv is sitting on a stand with a tray that is bolted to the cart. This machine enlarges things to help me see. I make sure the tray is empty, the machine is unplugged, and now I am ready to head to class for the morning. This was my lived experience each morning of ninth grade.

As a child and into my young adult life I grew up with a visual impairment that I let control me. In situations where others focused on me and my vision, I felt embarrassed. I put on a persona pretending not to be blind when I could and joking about it when I couldn’t hide it. But the reality only dug myself deeper into a hole of not being confident and trusting my own ability.

As I got older, I started dropping my persona. If my vision showed, I tried embracing it instead of feeling shame from it. Sometimes, it was difficult showing this side of me, but over time I felt a sense of empowerment. I learned how to no longer let my vision control me, but how to control my vision. This new sense of self and confidence enabled me to learn what it truly meant to own my blindness.

My practice is a reflection of my new positionality in life. I create interactive spaces where participants are forced to encounter their own perception of the space and confront the way they choose to engage with their surroundings. By being immersed with a mostly non-visual experience, participants are asked to relearn. Information is gathered in a variety of ways to help stimulate participants’ visual memory and build a clear mental picture. By continually creating a detailed mental image, they are able to more accurately recall locations of objects within space, thus feeling safer and more comfortable.

As I sit here hearing the faucet drip, the rough carpet underfoot, the cold air currents in the room, having an awareness of an enclosed space around me, and tasting peppermint in my mouth, I start to form a picture. We are surrounded by many sensory clues every day that can help us understand our environment if we allow them too. Approximately 80% of the information we receive is through our vision. By manipulating how the viewer is asked to understand the space, their perspective changes. Because of the normative we put in place, people in the

beginning may feel less confident about using their other senses but over time a trust and confidence is formed. “Blind” is just another descriptor to me and not a negative one that I need to hide or reject. Many people try to understand and connect with me but do not have experience with blindness. Increasing participants’ awareness through interaction increases their understanding. We all project a certain face to the world, and we all have different identities we take on through life. These influence our most essential core traits. Through social interactions we internalize and develop a dominant characteristic of what blindness is. In my work viewers are empowered to problem solve solutions. Viewers begin to understand where to begin outside their own experience and generate an informed choice on my lived experience. I am not my blindness just as a sighted individual is not their vision.

Through your skin and the air everyone speaks a different language, 2024 Audio installation

Through your skin and the air everyone speaks a different language, 2024 Audio installation

Through your skin and the air everyone speaks a different language, 2024 Audio installation

Cultivate is an independent, artist-run arts organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We offer a contemporary art gallery, fine art education program, and artist resource center.

The Cultivate program is proudly made possible with funding from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.