Olivia Arau McSweeny
January 20 – February 28, 2021
In this show, both artists are concerned with environment and space, contextualizing how we inhabit a place from different vantage points.
Olivia Arau McSweeney’s works deal with the Ecological Self. In her prints, she explores how our natural environments, such as ecosystems and biospheres are extensions of the self. She has reinterpreted this philosophical concept popularized in the 70’s to understand how in an age of climate crisis, we understand the relationship we hold to our changing world.
In Pace Knowles-Donnelly’s work, she examines how the industrialization of the Pioneer Valley was deeply attached to legacies of colonization, workplace abuse, and slavery. She uses ghosts as a tool to engage with histories of the perpetrated which we will never know and how interconnected these legacies are to the places we call home.
The Sanford Gallery is open to visitors by appointment. Call 413.584.1783 to schedule a visit.