“Scarcity & Abundance is a three-person exhibition curated by Professor Rebecca Finley and Assistant Professor Emily Peacock featuring artists Matt Manalo, Emma Balder, and Venessa Monokian, The exhibition brings together three artists unconventionally manipulating materials while addressing issues of home and nature.

Manalo was born in Manila, Philippines and resides in Houston. His environmentally conscious work incorporates raw materials and found objects while tackling ideas surrounding his own immigrant identity, displacement, and how “home” is defined.

Monokian intricately cuts photographs of an invasive species called the air potato vine to examine the fragility of our ecosystems and to expose the irrevocable damage that one pretty plant can cause. Her work also explores the ways we are rooted in our homes through familiar landscapes.

Balder softens the boundaries between painting and textiles in her works which reconstitute fragmented material, unveiling beauty in refuse and mutual understanding between mediums. The incorporation of found soft materials, fabric remnants, and embroidery illustrate textured stories.

The public is invited to the reception and artist talk on Thursday, January 26, 2022, from 6:00- pm to 7:00 pm. The gallery is located on the second floor of the Dana Hoyt Art Complex 1741 Bobby K. Marks Dr., Huntsville, TX 77340. Additional information can be found at www.shsu.edu/academics/art/galleries or contact Frank Graham by email at flg002@shsu.edu or call 936-870-7128.”

University Art Gallery, Dana G. Hoyt Fine Arts Building (Sam Houston State University)

1741 Bobby K. Marks Drive

Huntsville, 77340 Texas