VAC exhibition features artist from Wabash College

Tidewater Community College’s Visual Arts Center (VAC) will host the solo exhibition “Over and Over: Sculpture & Photographs by Doug Calisch” from May 5 through June 20.

Galleries are free and open to the public.

In this program, the Crawfordsville, Indiana, artist presents a striking collection of assemblages and photographs using a range of visual resources, including architecture, tools, games, natural artifacts, refuse, the human figure and the environment.

The Wabash College professor uses a three-part sculptural process involving collecting, modifying and assembling found materials, something he calls “creative scavenging.” He then creates layers of association whereby motifs emerge and narratives are created. In essence, Calisch preserves the identity of these rescued objects then invents new ways of presenting them. In their new context, the shrine-like assemblages reveal various themes and the materials find new life.

Depicting many of the abandoned sites where the artist did his scavenging, his digital photographs reveal the unusual beauty and ghostly qualities in and around these areas. Deserted outdoor attractions, home interiors, dumpsters, classrooms and signs exhibit unusual narrative qualities and question our historical understanding of the reality within the image.

The VAC is located at 340 High St.

For information, call Shelley Brooks at 757-822-1878.