101 Archer welcomes a new heartfelt exhibit illustrating fleeting and impassioned visions of America’s heartland.
Debuting Friday, Nov.1 at 101 Archer as an ode to John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden,” M. Walker Nelson introduced her most recent exhibition: “West (of Eden).” The exhibition includes a series of traditional oil paintings, each one referencing Steinbeck’s writings as well as incorporating the parallels with Nelson’s own life to create a beautiful and lively tribute to Steinbeck and his literary works.
Although the series no doubt demonstrates themes of resilience and strength, it is Nelson’s focus on the clash of the past with the present and human fallibility that illustrates the full vulnerability of the show. In the display, Nelson contextualizes the pieces explaining how growing up in the West, she often used to feel trapped in her small town, dedicating the show to “everyone who has lived on the outskirts or feels unseen in a flyover state.” With this sentiment framing the backdrop of the exhibit, the main theme that Nelson tackles is the passage of time and the imperfect nature of the human condition. Nelson emphasizes the pace of technological developments over the last 150 years and how they have radically changed the fundamentals of how humans have lived for centuries.
The artist attempts to show the duality of humans in that they exist simultaneously both in the past and present, especially in the visual aspects of the paintings. Nelson creates each of the paintings to represent the often effervescent but sometimes enduring nature of memories. Some pieces such as “The Typewriter” represent more clear and vivid memories, but retain wide vertical brushstrokes proceeding down the canvas to give the illusion of the memory being replayed like something on an old film camera. In another painting of the street view of a motel named “Cowboy,” Nelson displays the allure of nostalgia in memories. In her charming depiction of the motel and various street signs, Nelson elevates the mundane image of a motel off the side of the street with her vivid blues, yellows and pinks. She demonstrates the impact nostalgia can have when humans reminisce, often remembering things brighter and more vivid than they once actually were. The bright blue sky as the backdrop contrasts with the yellows and reds in the foreground and the use of neon pink to show shape and contrast creates a sense of nostalgia one feels only when reflecting on a warm memory of home.
In this sense, Nelson takes a new positive spin on 20th and 21st-century technological advances, saying, “We work longer hours and over-commit ourselves and our children, only needing to come down from the running with endless streaming shows, social platforms, and drugs that cure-all. Is this the dream life of our predecessors? In some ways, yes!” Nelson’s optimistic perspective is a breath of fresh air and one that emphasizes progress, but also the importance of hope. Nelson’s “West (of Eden)” display underscores the distance humanity has left to travel, while also recognizing the celebration of our ancestors’ wildest imaginations.
