On view: January 18 – March 28

Featured Artists: Eames Armstrong, Rex Delafkaran, Billy Friebele, Michael Dax Iacovone, Laura Hyunjhee Kim, Rose Nestler, Kirk Amaral Snow, and Antoinette Suiter.

In physics, the phrase “applied forces” describes those forces that arise out of physical contact between two or more material objects. In the exhibition Applied Forces, bodies, objects, and spaces collide. Artists act upon the landscape, utilize their own bodies as artistic material, and create tools and costumes to be used in performances and videos. They choreograph, instigate, and document collisions between objects and bodies, between bodies and environments, and between varied physical materials. Through performance, video, photography, installation, and sculpture, this exhibition highlights contemporary artists who utilize physical force and activity to explore power dynamics, push the limits of their material, and confront the spaces they inhabit.

On view: January 18 – March 28

In the exhibition Blink Blank, AAC resident artist Jung Min Park presents a series of large sculptural light boxes, along with a selection of new wall-based works. In her light boxes, Park builds up layers of imagery drawn from her own accumulated memories of specific places – places she either lived or visited for extended periods of time. The artist breaks down and rebuilds these landscapes and cityscapes, layering familiar objects and spaces into complex and abstract compositions. The layering of Park’s imagery within the light boxes evokes the fragmentation of memory. Park’s light boxes are influenced by photography, a medium that relies on flashing light to preserve a single moment, balancing the seeming simplicity of a second in time with the complexity that a single moment can actually contain. The harmonization of opposites is a recurring theme throughout Park’s work. She brings together simplicity and complexity, abstraction and figuration, light and shadow, the man-made and the natural, the past and the present.

On view: January 18 – March 28

In partnership with Arlington Public Art, Arlington Arts Center presents an exhibition of models, drawings, and photographs created by artist Foon Sham as preparation for and documentation of his large-scale public artworks. The exhibition takes place in conjunction with the recent unveiling of Ridge, a new public art piece created by Sham for Oakland Park, two blocks from Arlington Arts Center. The form for Ridge was inspired by mountainous ridges, transforming landscapes one might see in nearby Shenandoah or the Blue Ridge Mountains into a human scale, interactive sculpture. Since his time as a resident artist at Arlington Arts Center from 1988 to 1994, Sham has also completed multiple public artworks across Arlington. The exhibition will focus specifically on these projects, featuring models, drawings, and photographs of projects in Bluemont Park, Bennett Park, Oakland Park, and on AAC’s front lawn. By exhibiting models and documentation, the exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into the development of the artist’s large-scale pieces, as well as an appreciation for his meticulous and committed approach to wood, his chosen material.

Ridge was commissioned by Arlington County and funded by the Neighborhood Conservation program and from a private development public art fund contribution from Amelia 2, L.C., the owners of The Amelia Apartments.

Opening Reception: Saturday / February 1 / 6-9pm

Opening Reception for AAC’s winter exhibitions and open studios with our resident artists.

Gallery Talk: Saturday / March 7 / 1-3pm

A walking tour and discussion of Applied Forces and Jung Min Park: Blink Blank with the exhibiting artists.

Artist Talk & Site Visit: Saturday / March 28 / 1-3pm

Former AAC resident artist Foon Sham will discuss his public art practice, including the many projects he has created around Arlington. The talk will be followed by a visit to see Ridge, installed in Oakland Park one block from Arlington Arts Center.