Painter shows work at museum of art

“New Navigation,” an exhibition of paintings by Ann Holsberry, is on display through Aug. 27 at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F St. in Eureka. An Arts Alive! reception is planned for Aug. 5 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Holsberry is a painter who works in a variety of media. Her experience growing up on the Gulf Coast of Florida and journeys since then have been central to her work. She finds inspiration in the mystery of the natural world and is fascinated by the movement of humans and animals across the globe. Cosmology also fascinates her as the movements of planets and stars complement these earthbound migrations. The transit of bodies across distances large and small, in conjunction with her love of found maps and scientific papers from bygone eras, is the inspiration for this “New Navigation” installation.

Holsberry currently works with cyanotype, an archaic photographic process that starts with a spontaneous application of chemicals onto paper or canvas in the darkroom. She then develops the work in outdoor sunlight, often using elements from nearby surroundings in the exposure. Due to the iron-based chemistry involved, a deep Prussian Blue predominates. These works are then brought into the realm of painting by the application of pigments, as well as wax, ink, and embroidery. Throughout the process, she often reverts to the simple goal of letting this be an exploration of blue.

As she work outdoors with materials that are responsive to the elements, she feels a deep personal engagement with nature. This engagement is furthered by working with large canvases at the edge of oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water in an attempt to capture their ebb, flow and sedimentation at that particular time and place. Through observation of these natural phenomena, Holsberry has gained an acute awareness of the changes in the ecosystem that require both humans and animals to adapt to new ways of navigating the world.

The Morris Graves Museum of Art is open to the public noon to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults; $2 for seniors (age 65 and over) and students with ID; and free to children 17 and under and to museum members. Admission is free for everyone on the first Saturday of every month.