SEWN SOWN Art Exhibition
By Shel Bandelow
SEWN SOWN, the latest exhibit in the Hodson Gallery, explores similarities and differences.
Artist Corey Frey explains that SEWN SOWN are homophones—they sound similar but have different meanings—and these words ‘sewn’ and ‘sown’ are also united by their opposing meanings.
“Sewn has to do with bringing together. Sown has to do with scattering,” Frey said.
During the opening reception on Jan. 27, family, friends, co-workers and art enthusiasts gathered to view Frey’s work and further discuss the meaning behind each piece.
At the beginning of the exhibition, there were a handful people in the room, mainly family members and friends setting up. Frey’s brother Nicholas was walking around with a little girl, a joyous and smiling toddler.
When viewing a painting on the wall, Nicholas asked her, “What do you see?” She pointed and cheered, “Three crows!”
He laughed and said, “What do you see below the crows?” She looked at the painting and looked at Nicholas then shrugged with an “I don’t know.” Nicholas looked at the painting once more and spoke quietly to her. He said, “I see a man. I think it’s Corey.”
Nicholas Frey modeled in the studio for two hours with wet plaster dripping down his back for a piece in the collection titled “Zugunruh.” According to Nicholas, when the plaster mold was taken off it broke into pieces.
“That’s the thing with Corey, he finds beauty in everything to repurpose,” said Donald Frey, the artist’s father.
Frey certainly has a knack for repurposing material into art, especially in the piece called “Relic Variations,” in which Frey uses his own wisdom teeth to further discuss the notion of sameness versus similarity.
According to Corey Frey, there is a need for a balance between “the assuaging of similarity at the center of things and the disturbance of the other on the fringe of things.” This balance between similarity and difference is explored through various references and associations in his work. “
Recognizing and allowing differences becomes the thing that resists corruption,” the artist said.
During his remarks, Frey expressed his gratitude to the Frederick Arts Council, which funded the exhibition, and Bonnie Kern, Hood College’s gallery director, who has been working with Frey for about a year and a half to create this solo exhibition.
Frey, who grew up in Middletown, has been drawing since childhood and attended art school at 30 years old. He currently works at The Delaplaine Arts Center as exhibitions manager.
As a multi-disciplinary artist, poet and musician, Frey also started The WELL Collaborative, a community based in Frederick, dedicated as a safe space welcoming artists in the area to create and develop their craft.
The Art Exhibition SEWN SOWN will be available for viewing until Feb. 16 in the Tatem Arts Center on the first floor. For artwork prices and purchase inquiries, contact Corey Frey through website at www.coreysfrey.com
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