FINCH LANE GALLERY EXHIBITIONS EXPLORE ALTERED LANDSCAPES

 

Salt Lake City—The Finch Lane Gallery presents artists Benny van der Wal and Lexi Rae Johnson in exhibitions September 30 through November 18. An opening reception will be held on Friday, October 7 from6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

 

 

Photographer Benny van der Wal is fascinated by humankind and how people interact with their surrounding environments, particularly as existence is dependent upon a healthy environment. By-products from industrial manufacturing have caused a growing waste problem around the world. Van der Wal uses trash as both form and content to explore human feelings of entitlement for the earth. For his current project, van der Wal collected the unsolicited mail he received over the course of a year. The resulting 55 pounds of garbage were given new life in the form of shredded junk mail trees that he made and photographed, giving the unwanted and unsolicited a new life. These photographs and others are exhibited in his Desert Trashscapes.

 

 

In Wait Here Please, mixed media artist Lexi Rae Johnson uses multiple paintings and an installation of a mythological city called Warm Land to create an environment in which viewers can step into a portal of otherworldliness. Johnson says of her work, “Here, dogs will fight for you. Here, absurd corridors will unfold for you. Please allow me to introduce you to impossible combinations.” Through her work, Johnson creates a space where viewers can forget their surroundings and become one with her created landscape.

 

 

Van der Wal and Johnson will present gallery talks about their work on Friday, October 21 with Benny van der Wal at5:00 p.m. and Lexi Rae Johnson at 5:30 p.m.

 

 

What:              Finch Lane Gallery Exhibition featuring artists:

Benny van der Wal and Lexi Rae Johnson

When:             September 30 through November 18

Where:           Finch Lane Gallery, 54 Finch Lane in Reservoir Park

 

 

Finch Lane Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with additional evening hours during the Salt Lake City Gallery Stroll on October 21 and November 18 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. All events are free of charge. For additional information, contact the Salt Lake City Arts Council, 801.596.5000 or visit www.saltlakearts.org.