Mobile Bay Magazine

Throughout her career as an artist, Mobile, AL, native Monica Beasley has explored concepts of feminism, femininity, home, marriage, family, race, and Southern culture.

Monica attributes much of her influence to her strong and loving mother and her many cherished aunts—three of the works in this exhibition are titled and dedicated to three of these aunts. She is also influenced by the nkisi of Central Africa, the Hopi Native American tribe, and Haitian spiritual art. Teacher, friend, and well known painter Ed Paschke, as well as artists Ellen Gallagher and Kerry James Marshall have also had tremendous influence on her life and work. In speaking about Paschke’s impact in particular, Monica notes, “He opened my eyes to everything already in the universe. You just have to go look for it, to rethink it, repurpose it, and let it shine in a different way.”

Organized by the Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama

Jane Cassidy creates site-specific audio-visual installations. By manipulating various technologies such as speakers and projectors, Cassidy fuses light and sound to form meditative environments filled with visual music. At the Mobile Museum of Art, she will exhibit a contemplative installation melding sound and illumination, a fully immersive environment of projected light and music that resonates in the body and mind of the viewer.

An Irish artist currently living and working in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Cassidy trained in music composition and animation. She earned a Masters in Music and Media Technologies from Trinity College Dublin in 2008 and a Masters of Fine Arts in Digital Art from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana in 2014. Since that time, national and international film festivals, galleries, and museums have featured her work.

Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama

Christopher Nitsche: Liminal Ship II

December 15, 2018 – December 8, 2019

Christopher Nitsche creates sculptures, drawings and temporary installations that evoke the visual and metaphorical attributes of ships; a pursuit he started in 1995. This installation continues a series of site works exploring the ship as a carrier of memory objects. The hull-side is composed of re-purposed lumber, which has an extant history of previous use. Most of the wood comes from debris after Hurricanes Mathew and Irma.

Nitsche has had over 70 solo and group shows, throughout America, Montenegro and Japan.  The State Art Councils of New Hampshire and Colorado recognized his work with Fellowship Grants for Artistic Merit.  Recent solo exhibitions include the 621 Gallery in Tallahassee, Florida and the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in Savannah, Georgia, the Spartanburg Art Museum, the Indigo Sky Community Gallery, and Waterworks Visual Arts Center Museum.  He participated as a Visiting Artist creating installations at the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the University of Wyoming Art Museum, Bridgewater State University, and Texas Woman’s University. Nitsche is currently a Professor of Foundation Studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design teaching classes in design and sculpture.

Anna-Marie Babington will lead a restorative yoga class in the soothing natural soundscape of The Undersea Well. Taking place in the Regional Gallery, immersed in Jane Cassidy’s The Undersea Well, there will be an emphasis on deep relaxation. This will be a great opportunity to stretch out, unwind, and immerse oneself in the site-specific meditative environment. A unique opportunity to practice yoga amidst a curated audio-visual art experience. Open to all levels; no prior yoga experience necessary.

Tuesdays, February 5 – April 2
(No class on Mardi Gras, 3/5/19)
6:15-7:45 p.m.
$10/class or $70 for the 8 week session