In There Are No Lies That Change the Version of You I Had, the abstracted sculptures from Hannah Fitzgerald are influenced by the artist’s complex relationship with her mother. The work questions the secrets children keep regarding their reality and explores how adulthood creates motivation to confront failed motherhood. This process is a mode of searching, rebuilding, and building from a suspended pain that is only experienced in memories now.
This exhibition explores the naive glimmer that is kept proudly in the eyes of many to avoid confronting what they know is truth in a relationship. Fitzgerald’s work heavily relies on material exploration and is an installation-based practice that focuses on mixed media sculptures. An exploration of femininity and the tradition of craft allows for the artist to rely on traditional techniques while creating conceptual installations that act as invasions to the space they occupy.
The work is assembled with alternative materials, such as hair, eggs, condoms, doll parts, and hosiery. This intentional selection of motifs is paired with standard sculpture materials like plaster, concrete, and metal to create a visual narrative that is striking to the viewer. The artist is interested in conversations surrounding youth and the complexities that come with questioning parental relationships.
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 12, 6–7:30 p.m.
Artist Bio:
Hannah Fitzgerald holds a BFA in Fine Arts from Columbus College of Art & Design with a concentration in sculpture. She most recently was one of the resident artists at Burren College of Art for a four-week residency in Ballyvaughan, Ireland. Prior to BCA, she was an artist-in-residence at Metafora Studio Arts in Barcelona, Spain; this was Fitzgerald’s second artist residency in Spain. Her first program was through R.A.R.O Barcelona, where she collaborated with YellowCube Gallery & OpenBach Studio in Paris, France.
Before the residency, Fitzgerald interned at The Children’s Museum of Art in the Art Administration and Education Department. This experience led her to intern at The Wexner Center for the Arts in the Learning and Public Practice department. Now back in Columbus, Fitzgerald has been the recipient of the Joan Hall travel grant through Columbus College of Art & Design, the GCAC Funds for Artists grant, and has been published in Suboart Magazine. She is currently establishing her studio practice locally at The Dream Clinic.
