Luisa Adelfio’s Innocent Objects exhibit opened Feb. 9 in the Neil Britton Art Gallery at Virginia Wesleyan College and will be on display until Apr. 14.
This exhibition displays a variety of materials including stone, paper and glass. Archetypes and symbols, cultural memory and the intersection of science and spiritual practices including meditation and chanting are the themes present in Adelfio’s exhibit.
“This show addresses spiritual meaning in the material world. Innocent Objects explores the personal and cultural meaning that humans give to the physical world and the objects in it. Objects are innocent, and have no meaning until we project our ideas onto them,” according to the exhibit’s biography.
Adelfio is an alumna of Wellesley College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in arts in fine arts and art history. She has won multiple awards for her work, including Best Collection of Work from Wellesley College and the silver medal for Dedication to Art and Science from the Royal Society of Arts.
Dr. Rudel, the Batten associate professor of arts and curator of exhibitions, organizes the shows presented in the gallery, including Innocent Object’s opening and reception. The artist talk during the opening night was a favorite for many attendees.
Sue Erickson, the director of the Hofheimer library, said she enjoyed the talk because she learned more about Adelfio’s artistic process.
“I really enjoyed the gallery talk. I’m not sure we’ve had quite that kind of a talk before where the artist really talks about her work,” Erickson said. “I really enjoyed hearing about how she used books as a mold for the casting for the glass pieces that are in there. Those are things I wouldn’t have figured out.”
Lydia O’Connor, a junior majoring in art, likes how Adelfio used everyday objects in unique ways.
“There’s this one panel that kind of reminds me of hieroglyphs but it’s made from glass. It was kind of cool because it relates back to history which I really enjoy,” O’Connor said.
Farah Haidari
fahaidari@vwc.edu
Justin Smith
jrsmith2@vwc.edu
Miranda Fein
mlfein@vwc.edu
(Photo: Anothony Dellamura)