A Hera Members Exhibition Featuring:
Chad Amos Self, Amanda Bingham-Smith, Jason Smith, Marisa Squire, & Sarah Swift
March 15, - April 2, 2023
Closing Reception: Join the artists at Hera’s Spring Bash! April 1, 6-9pm at Hera Gallery
Extended Gallery Hours: Hera Gallery will be open on Sundays from 11-2pm through the duration of the exhibition.
Hera Gallery is proud to present Timelines in Nature, a Hera Members Exhibition featuring: Chad Amos Self, Amanda Bingham-Smith, Jason Smith, Marisa Squire, & Sarah Swift. The exhibition will take place at Hera Gallery, located at 10 High Street in Wakefield, RI from March 4- April 1, 2023. The public is invited to attend during our open Gallery hours, Wed- Fri (1-5pm), Saturday (10am-4pm), and Sunday (11-2pm). The closing reception will be celebrated as part of Hera’s Spring Bash on April 1, 2023, in collaboration with 401Gives. A virtual rendition of the exhibition will be fully available on heragallery.org. All Hera events are free and open to the public.
The exhibiting artists share works that examine one’s intimate place within the greater universe. Amanda Bingham-Smith presents a series of photographs titled Ephemeral Works: Etched in Ice. Bingham-Smith is “bearing witness to eternal songs and conversations etched in Ice: and looks to explore its “ancient and sacred choreography.” Marisa Squire introduces a series of celestial-inspired paintings and sculptures to “encourage the viewer to think about the Sun and Moon a little differently” and “remind us to embrace what we have and who we have in the moment; to not to take anything for granted.” Jason Smith exhibits a collection of layered acrylic paintings “inspired by obscure images and sculpture from the old world questioning the timeline and existence of entities/bestiaries and symbolism that reflects a universal understanding of quantum design and nature.” Sarah Swift showcases a variety of handmade weavings. She says” These bodies of work explore the ever-changing cycles within organic phenomena, and our growing disassociation from the earth, despite our deep primordial connection to the environment around us.” Chad Amos Self presents a collection of works made from paper pulp, recycled materials natural materials, and photo emulsion transfer. Self says “I have been exploring my memory, nostalgia, and local ecology. For me, my objects and imagery are an exploration of tangible and intangible spaces; ecosystems from my past and present. My arrangements are minimal in organization and maximal in material composition. For the viewer, my hope is they will have a moment of speculation and appreciation for the simple beauty of nature and natural materials.”
Chad Amos Self
Rhode Island native, Chad Amos Self, creates art with a focus on paper making, pulp painting, and fiber sculpture. Self translates his love of imagination into his studio art. His work primarily focuses on the material nature of pulps and fibers and the tactile appearance of paper. He explores his own memory, family history, local geography, and social engagement. He has shown work at Hera Gallery, Hoxie Gallery, One Way Gallery, the University of Rhode Island, Studio Blue, Carlotti Administration Building, the Danforth Museum of Art, the Artist’s Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Goddard College, The Eliot D. Pratt Library, Imago Gallery, and the Jamestown Art Center. Self is a proud member of the historical Hera Gallery, where he also sits on the executive board. In 2012, Self graduated cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and in 2022 received his Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College. He currently teaches studio art at the University of Rhode Island and Anna Maria College.
Artist Statement
I have been working for the last several years with pulp, painting, video and photography. I have been exploring my memory, nostalgia, and local ecology. For me, my objects and imagery are an exploration of tangible and intangible spaces; ecosystems from my past and present. My arrangements are minimal in organization and maximal in material composition. For the viewer, my hope is they will have a moment of speculation and appreciation for the simple beauty of nature and natural materials.
Marisa Squire
Marisa Squire is an artist from New York, who came to Rhode Island to study Marine Biology, but soon decided to shift course to study Fine Arts. She has been interested in drawing since a young girl. This drawing fascination soon graduated into different mediums like sculpture, photography, graphic design, etc. Her more recent work explores mark-making, patterns, and textures through drawing and sculpture. She hopes to continue exploring mediums and techniques to create compelling pieces. Squire has now graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In her senior year of college, she interned at Hera Gallery and helped to create the 2022 URI senior show. She is now the assistant director of Hera Gallery in Wakefield, RI.
Artist Statement
The pieces that I have created are part of my personal collection which carry a lot of meaning to me. Throughout history, the Sun and Moon have symbolized many things to countless people around the world.
These pieces were made for viewers to appreciate the beauty of creation and something bigger than ourselves, not just our own little worlds. Life is precious and beautiful. Our Sun and Moon are crucial to our everyday lives, they give us our days and nights. They make it possible to call the land we walk on Home. We have to appreciate what is bigger than just ourselves and not take the things we cannot always see for granted.
My work encourages the viewer to think about the Sun and Moon a little differently while remembering how important these symbols have been throughout time. Along with reminding us to embrace what we have and who we have in the moment, not to take anything for granted.
Jason Smith
I was born in Newport RI. I attended Pennfield School, St. George’s and Portsmouth High School. I earned an associates degree from CCRI in 2007 and a BFA with highest honors at URI in 2010. Concentrations included intaglio and lithography printmaking, Digital Art and design and drawing. I have been a member of Hera gallery since 2014. My work is inspired by historical, ancient mythological and cultural ideas, human origins, mysticism, religious beliefs, and symbolism. Questioning the unknown, lost civilizations, the Darwinian timeline, and on a never-ending journey tracing the story of earth and all its inhabitants past and present.
Artist Statement
My current work is layered on acrylic and inspired by obscure images and sculpture from the old world questioning the timeline and existence of entities/bestiaries and symbolism that reflects a universal understanding of quantum design and nature.
Sarah Swift
Sarah Swift was born and raised in coastal Rhode Island, and moved to Brooklyn, NYC to receive her BFA in painting from Pratt Institute of Art and Design. She has exhibited work in shows throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and won the Best of Show award at the 2016 TriBeCa Conception Events Exhibition. She has been featured in Artscope Magazine, SORhode Island Magazine, RI-GO Local Live, Root TV, and Local papers. She now resides in Myrtle Beach where she works as a Freelance textile artist. Swift is also a frequent traveler, and has solo-backpacked 28 countries throughout Europe, North America, & Africa. She has also driven 48 out of the 50 US states, and plans to add more in 2023.
Artist Statement
“These bodies of work explore the ever changing cycles within organic phenomena, and our growing disassociation to the earth, despite our deep primordial connection to the environment around us. My work looks specifically at "what gets left behind" from our human existence in a multitude of ways, both physical and emotional…
...Our obsession with "easier, faster, lighter, smarter" and the priority of human convenience, easily seem to outweigh a mindful relationship with the natural world. We create a path of destruction in our wake, blinders on, expecting the whole world for ourselves.”
Amanda Smith-Bingham
Amanda lives and works in Peace Dale, Rhode Island. In 1992, she received a BFA from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, MA. She studied documentary photography with Bill Burke. In 2000-2001, she attended Rhode Island School of Design for post-graduate studies. Amanda received a Polaroid Materials Grant in 1995 for her documentary work with aboriginal communities in Northern Queensland, Australia. In 1996, she was a finalist at Workman Publishing Group for her photographic monograph on children of divorce: Till Death Us Do Part.
Artist Statement
Ice holds ancient and sacred choreography. Latitudes of yearning, stirred by swirling undercurrents and wind. Striated forms, stories ever rewriting themselves, appear familiar and unknown; prehistoric. I dangle from fallen tree limbs, crouching, straddling streams and meanders as I wait for the light to join me in play. I bear witness to eternal songs and conversations etched in Ice.
