Epitaphs and Old Lace

GAMBIER, Ohio (September 8, 2008) "Through the Hourglass" brings to the Olin Art Gallery a meditation on death and loss with a poignant touch by artist Mary Jo Bole.

Bole's artist books, drawings, and sculpture and installation are showcased through September 27. Bole, a professor of art at Ohio State University, will discuss her work at 7:30 p.m., September 11, in the Olin Auditorium, followed by a reception.

A student of the commemoration of death, Bole's intuitive, sociological inquiry includes the salvage, appropriation and fabrication of mortuary-like motifs, epitaphs and ephemera. Bole's sculpted works include media such as brick, ceramic tile, iron and porcelain. A whimsical fascination with plumbing and bathroom fixtures is another aspect of Bole's approach. "I like work that faces something head on," Bole said. "A large part of the work explores issues of mortality, untimely loss and social decay." As a child, Bole often visited the Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, the resting place of her "old aunties." Influenced by her family's pervasive Victorian world of heavy lace, pressed flowers, mourning jewelry and drapery, these elements recur in her artwork. She has participated in many artist residencies, including the 2008 Kohler Artist in Industry Residency in Sheboygan, Wis. Bole has developed an extensive regional, national and international exhibition history, and her work can be found in museum and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York City; the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.; the Gustavsberg Factory Collection, Stockholm, Sweden; and the Robert J. Shiffler Collection & Archive, Dayton, Ohio. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The gallery, in the Olin Library, is open 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information on this exhibit and on the gallery, contact Dan Younger, gallery director, at youngerd@kenyon.edu or 740- 427-5346.