Staff Report
The University of the South Art Gallery in Sewanee, Tenn., is showcasing the work of Nichole Maury through Nov. 20. “Patterns of Behavior” is composed of images that were created by combining various printmaking processes with graphite drawing.
The methodically crafted images explore the meaningful tension between the individual handmade mark and the repetition of ordered systems.
Maury has traced the genesis of her current work to the experience of playing with coloring books as a child; to trying to fill in the printed black lines of the page with perfect crayon marks of her own; and to the impulse, in her words, “to take an image and make it my own, mark by mark.” While printed matter has connotations of impersonal authority and repetitive order, the handmade, drawn mark is idiosyncratic.
In her work, Maury plays with these distinctions, combining found, printed materials with her own printed imagery and drawn marks. Her images are visual records of an individual repeating an ordered ritual over time, resulting in artworks that evoke systems teetering on the edge of chaos.
“In repetition there is order and structure, but also endless variation,” she said in her artist’s statement. “By trying to create a perfect mark by hand, its individuality and imperfections become more and more apparent.”
Maury lives in Kalamazoo, Mich., where she teaches printmaking and drawing at Western Michigan University. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. Her prints and drawings have been exhibited nationally and internationally.
The University Art Gallery, 68 Georgia Ave., is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (all times Central). Call 931-598-1223 for more information.