Riley Kemerling
Nothing Lovely
August 5th - August 28th, 2016
"We are trained to see beauty and grandeur in even the most mundane of ancient ruins. We accept, often without question, that Alexandria’s garbage and Pompeii’s graffiti are worthy of reverence and study. Conversely, when we are confronted with contemporary ruins, the dominant social response is to see failure and despair, and to seek ways to erase all evidence of these modern-day ruins." - Riley Kemerling
It seems to me that we revere the detritus of the ancient world not because these artifacts are important in themselves, but because they tell us something about the daily lives of our distant ancestors. It is my hope that these paintings force you to imagine that in this world where we are always debating the value of life, that we contemplate the lives of our neighbors separated not by time but by economic circumstance.
Every day our urban planners, developers, and elected officials collectively make judgements about the relative value of the individual lives that make up the built environments that surround us. One neighborhood is deemed “historic” and worthy of “rehabilitation” and “preservation”; another is deemed “blighted” and removed to make room for “redevelopment.” Can we make judgements about whose lives we value more by studying what we choose to save and what we choose to discard in the city that we live in? And, more importantly, can we honor and learn from the lives that once occupied the discarded spaces by carefully studying the remnants of those lives? It’s my hope that these paintings reflect and dignify the landscapes that seemingly contain “Nothing Lovely.” They should be seen not as voyeuristic snapshots of personal debris, but as immersive and empathetic studies of the lives lived in these spaces. To truly understand each other, we can’t just drive by and glance at the ruins, we have to genuinely seek to see. It’s the moment before the ruins are razed that provides the opportunity for learning; we are poised in that moment.
Press:
Robin Young's story about blight plays an important role in Riley's exhibition. The very same houses discussed in the story are the one's that are pictured in Riley's artwork.
Here and Now: "Looking at Blight in East Cleveland, A City Hit Hard by the Housing Crisis"
About the Artist:
Riley Kemerling hails from Mansfield, Ohio, and is a BFA candidate from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Her work has been exhibited in many venues such as FORUM artspace,
Juma Gallery, Waterloo Arts, the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Reinberger Gallery, HEDGE Gallery, and others. She has been actively showing work since her junior year of high school.
In 2013 Riley received the Emily Reed Foundation Arts Scholarship from her hometown of Mansfield, Ohio. Every year since 2013 she has won the Richland County Foundation Scholarship. Upon being accepted at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2014, Riley received the Cleveland Institute of Art Gund Family Scholarship, a scholarship based on portfolio strength and academic achievements. In 2015, she was awarded the Frances Wise Lang and H. Jack Lang Scholarship for Painting. Kemerling currently lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio.
Riley Kemerling hails from Mansfield, Ohio, and is a BFA candidate from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Her work has been exhibited in many venues such as FORUM artspace,
Juma Gallery, Waterloo Arts, the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Reinberger Gallery, HEDGE Gallery, and others. She has been actively showing work since her junior year of high school.
In 2013 Riley received the Emily Reed Foundation Arts Scholarship from her hometown of Mansfield, Ohio. Every year since 2013 she has won the Richland County Foundation Scholarship. Upon being accepted at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2014, Riley received the Cleveland Institute of Art Gund Family Scholarship, a scholarship based on portfolio strength and academic achievements. In 2015, she was awarded the Frances Wise Lang and H. Jack Lang Scholarship for Painting. Kemerling currently lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio.
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