Holt-Russell Gallery

Elena Masrour’s works are inspired by the proliferation of religious propaganda over the last 40 years in her home country, Iran, and social changes that have occurred following the Revolution. Masrour represents a generation of Iranian people who aspire to be modern at a time when religious leaders continue to weaponize the rules of God to maintain a stranglehold on power.

As an Iranian woman whose life has been heavily touched by the political events of the half decades in Iran, she has focused on modern Iranian women’s issues. The Iranian revolution in 1978 has had an impact on Iranian women’s daily lives dramatically as well as reshaped their identities and their role in society. At the core of Masrour’s concern are the injustices, hardships, and torments that innocent people in Iran are enduring. Masrour highlights these experiences from a woman’s point of view. She critiques Islamic fundamentalist beliefs that control people’s life and limit their freedom. Art can be an impactful way to expose the lack of power that women have in their lives, but it can also be dangerous to the maker.

Elena Masrour has drawn inspiration from American comic books to soften the viewer’s entry into her critique. Comic books connect to people of all ages, races, and cultures. Everyone can relate to a character or story they have seen or read in a comic book, as well as to the associated meaning. Masrour found comic books to be very popular in the United States, as opposed to Iran where they are not produced. Iranians have no comic hero or heroines. Masrour makes fun of the men in power by reducing their stature to screaming infantile creatures, while, in contrast, elevating her own. In so doing, she offers her wish for contemporary Iran to become a peaceful, safe place where people can thrive.

After 40 years of working on canvas, Jack Collins began working on wood panels in 2017. He used collage as a vehicle, painting and cutting and attaching other painted pieces of wood to the picture plane, reorganizing and repainting the pieces until he found an arrangement that was aesthetically pleasing to the artist’s eye. The cut panels created a shallow relief that cast shadows that created the illusion of lines. The panel was largely cut on a table saw yielding only straight edges. Collins found the addition of organic shapes broke down the rectilinear format of painting, creating a new tension.

Soon after, Collins began to recess the wooden attachment into the surface similar to puzzle pieces. The recesses began to deepen, and the pieces attached to the surface created higher relief works. The separation of the recesses and attachments grew to several inches. As the process continued, pieces of the paintings were often removed revealing voids that were assimilated into the work and at times exposed the supporting structure of the work or the wall behind the painting. As the space between the front surface and the back surface expanded, it exposed edges and sides of the protruding sections. This changed the complexity of the work; the painted sides of the relief allowed different views from all angles. From the use of the jigsaw and a sledgehammer, the shards and large chunks of wood added another element to the paintings.

In the last four years, his two-dimensional work became three dimensional. His visual vocabulary increased. Tension in the work increased. Revealing and exploring the interiors of his work added glimpses of the history of the work. The viewing experience for the audience was enhanced through seeing different views from various angles.
The work Collins does has always been informed by process and spontaneity, despite being carefully orchestrated. The ideas now explore opposites, the future and the past, the positive and the negative, the complex and the simple, the calculated and the spontaneous. Each piece he creates is simultaneously an extension from the past, where he’s come from and what he learned, as well as a preview of the future, where he is going next.

This young girl wanted to make wild and wacky things when she grew up. Her parents endured the Great Depression and believed value could be found in almost everything. This belief was instilled in their children and has become the basis for Joelle’s art. She uses found objects and items thought to have little value—”idle art”—in her work.

Joelle has made large installations as well as small collages. Even though they are diverse in size and nature, the common thread is the application of unwanted items. These items are sometimes found while walking outside or purchased at garage sales and thrift shops as well as contributed by friends and family. If one item sparks Joelle’s interest, many like items create an even greater interest; therefore, most of her work implements multiples and layering. Searching for new ways of making art and incorporating new material is an ongoing process.

The inaugural Baldwin National Open Media/Open Theme Juried Exhibition is a survey of contemporary art in the United States and includes 50 pieces by 27 artists from 15 states.

About the Juror | Christopher Benson

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1960 to artist parents, Christopher Benson attended the Rhode Island School of Design for three years before moving to New Mexico and California to pursue painting and continuing his education on his own. Benson returned to RISD to complete his BFA in painting in 2005 after receiving the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Painting Fellowship in 2001. He received a second Pollock-Krasner Fellowship in 2016. His work is included in leading public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art.

Baldwin National 2022 Artists

Bob Aldrich
Audrey Aronson
Randall Bennett
Jason Bly
Andy Brown
Fidalis Buehler
Jacob Docksey
Tracy Finn
Joelle Ford
Dave Hanson
Joshua Heimsoth
Kelly Hrad
Christopher Latil
John Markowitz
Kyle McKenzie
Meridith McNeal
Cody Norton
Andrew Ortiz
Brian Petrone
Phil Robinson
Kimberly Rodey
Karen Romani
Elizabeth Russell
Clayton Salley
Clark Valentine
Hilda Volkin
Vaughn Wascovich

A long-standing interest and commitment to Baker University studio art and the Baker University art collection endures since Donald Louthian spent several years as a faculty member at Baker directing the Department of Art. He was joined by his wife, Evelyn, in the early 1960s before their departure for California in 1963.

In California, Professor Louthian gave full attention to his studio practice and developed a successful career as an artist. He and Evelyn collected fine art through associations with fellow artists and art dealers. They donated a significant collection of artworks to Baker University in 2012.

The Louthians are again generously contributing work to support the educational experience of students and the larger community. The value of their collections has and will continue to enhance the experiential learning at Baker University.

Don Eckland
Untitled Head of a Woman 1966
Bronze