Erosions

Boston Gallery | June 2024 – November 2024

Reflecting the transformative nature of decay and deterioration, the exhibition meditates on the beauty of impermanence and the cyclical nature of life.

By Sarah Barkowski

ERosions 7
Merida

The Beauty of Change

Merida Studio contemplates the transient nature of life through pieces embodying deterioration, transformation, and the inevitable passage of time.

Through the shifting motifs, textural gradients, and subtle metamorphoses of Sylvie Johnson’s work, the exhibition meditates on the beauty of decay, the mystery of change, and the serenity of letting go.

Each piece invites you to reflect on the impermanence of life and the continuous cycle of change. In embracing these natural processes, we find beauty in the ephemeral and strength in the constant evolution of the world and ourselves.

In the earth’s cycles, nature is constantly breaking things down and transforming them into new things so that life can continue... None of this is immortal the way that it is in this very moment. It keeps on going, but only if it keeps on changing.

Sarah Barkowski, Curator

Sand – Clay – Detail 1

Sand (2023)

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Untitled-13

I think from an early age I really looked to nature as my teacher for life, seeing always the macro in the micro and vice versa... The show, to me, is a reminder to honor the past but hold it with a loose grip: allow it to change and transform the only way life knows how.

Sarah Barkowski, Curator

The exhibition puts works from Studio Eidola‘s Ocean Articulated series in conversation with Sylvie Johnson’s textiles. The relationship between the two can be seen physically and thematically: each studio’s deep appreciation for and exploration of natural materials shows through in the structure and surfaces of the pieces, while both bodies of work speak to the evolution of nature and mankind. In the fibers is a microcosm of the evolution of agriculture: the relationship of man and nature developing over thousands of years. In the sculptures, we see this evolution continue with man’s continual attunement to beauty and art alongside concerns for nature and survival. In Studio Eidola’s words, the temporary nature of the objects is a reminder that we should be borrowing materials from nature, not consuming them; thus, the connection to the impermanence of life is made.

Erosions 2
Merida

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

Seneca

Return, Return Again

Each of the studio’s works is impressionistic and experienced fully only through a multitude of experiences. Externally, the light of day manipulates the textural surfaces, and the seasons change their tone, shifting shadows concealing and revealing as time passes. Internally, your interpretation of the piece changes as you do, caught in an overdetermined loop as the piece changes you and you change the piece.

Mirroring this relationship, the curation speaks to the cyclical elements of nature, evoking the external landscape while provoking the internal.

With each element conditioned by its opposite—the dark being necessary to know the light, and each being found in the other—the exhibition turns your attention to the beauty of this inextricable connection: the essential impermanence of beauty and the inherent beauty in impermanence.

As fleeting as the moment of golden hour is, you know it will come again tomorrow; but somehow there is this tension. I think there’s an awareness there in the individuality of moments… that even though you will see another golden hour tomorrow, that golden hour will not be the same as this one, because one moment can never be exactly the same as the last.

Sarah Barkowski, Curator

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Sand (2023) and Neo (2021) by Sylvie Johnson with Medium Stool (2023) and Low Side Table (2022) by Studio Eidola

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Merida
Sand – Clay – Full Rug

Positioned on the right side wall of the gallery, it is Sand (2023) that pulls you into the space and anchors you in the middle of the room. The boulder-like forms of Sand (2023) seem to swirl before you in a cosmic gel, shifting and transforming before your eyes. The warbling movement of mouliné wool envelopes the motifs in a layer of energetic static, and the subtle shimmer of mohair brings an ethereal air to the otherwise solid multi-felted merino. Sand (2023)’s earthly Clay colorway sets the tone of dirt and dust in the exhibition, its radiating hue imbuing the curation with a sense of glowing life.

As your eyes move to the floor, the movement of Sand (2023) continues in Neo (2021). The oval shape and undulating lines evoke the swirling water of a coastal eddy. With the pushing and pulling of the tide, the sediments below swirl in a semi-solid state, occupying two worlds at once and yet belonging to one all its own. Undulating lines along its surface emphasize the fluidity of the piece, each surfacing then disappearing below. The deep shadows and strong highlights of linen mimic the peaks and valleys of small ripples, shimmering in subtle movement.

Neo – Versailles – Full Rug (Ivory Background)
Arrastra 309 – Jasper – Full Rug

Arrastra 309 (2019) lifts your gaze again to the wall, restructuring the lines of Neo (2021) into thin, stacked layers of sedimentary rock. Pockets of air peak through, weaving levity into the uniform structure of the piece.

As you round the room, the smaller works on the front wall reflect a continuation of this transformation: the thick, well-formed layers of Sahara 419 (2019) transition into the sand-dune-like waves of Nova (2021), resting for a moment in the fertile ground of Silt (2023) before returning to Sand (2023). These framed segments invite you to look closely, each piece acting as a fragment of the larger artist’s proof.

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Merida

With textile works spanning five years and their development spanning almost a decade, the deep-rooted connections between the featured pieces and the iterative process within each’s evolution map the extended lifespan of nature’s cycles and the transformations that happen all around us.

Debuting as the Boston Gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Erosions speaks not only to the continual evolutions seen in the studio’s process and works but also to the transformation seen in the space itself. The show conceptually reflects what Merida Studio has been doing over the last three years and will continue to do so long: change, transform, and evolve.

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