About the Exhibition

Redux is proud to present “I am Two with Nature”, a two person exhibition featuring work by artists Cari Freno and Travis Graves opening August 6 (6-9pm) on view through September 4, 2010. Both artists are inspired and stimulated by nature.

Cari Freno’s videos illustrate her sensuous encounters with nature in a public park environment. They evoke poignant qualities of life within the context of the natural and civilized world. The self-surveillance documentation provides an isolated perspective of an “experiential relationship fostering absurdly promiscuous behavior”. They are a tender spiritual attempt at self-actualization as well as meant to convey the naïve and ineffective attempts of a rookie.

Travis Graves sculptures explore nature through use of natural and recycled materials, which address notions of expectation and cultural attitudes as a metaphor for society’s dependence and influence over nature. Through the use of counter weights and magnets, Graves sculptures mysteriously float in thin air and balance precariously on the edge.

The combination of these two artists work offers a powerful dialogue between culture/society and nature through individual mediums and unconventional methods. “I am Two with Nature” constructs an intriguing relationship between Graves and Freno’s work and provides socially relevant and thought provoking context on the natural world.

About Cari Freno

Cari Freno (b. Cleveland, Ohio) has exhibited her work nationally in venues that include La Esquina, Kansas City, MO, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA and The Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA. She earned her degrees (MFA) from Virginia Commonwealth University and (BFA) from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. At Virginia Commonwealth University Cari was the recipient of the William B. Clopton Scholarship, Barbara Ellen Powers Scholarship and the SHEV Merit Award.

About Travis Graves

Travis Graves seeks to make artwork that is both thought provoking and socially relevant, and continue to exhibit artwork both regionally and nationally.  Recent exhibition venues include The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA, The Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI, The Brunswick St Gallery in Fitzroy, Australia, and One Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, NY.

Graves has been a faculty member in the Department of Art and Design at East Tennessee State University since 2005.  He attended Iowa State University as an undergraduate where he received his BFA in drawing, painting, and printmaking. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where his primary focused of study was sculpture.  As a graduate student, he was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” in 2003.  Before joining the faculty at ETSU Graves taught at The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

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