Avery Lawrence to visit Peeler Art Center for Artist Lecture
October 9, 2018
Greencastle, IN – Avery Lawrence is a contemporary artist living in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 with a degree in Visual Studies and received his MFA in studio art from California Institute of the Arts in 2015. Avery currently teaches art and design at the University of Pennsylvania and works as a studio assistant at the Fabric Workshop and Museum.
Avery’s work is on display through December 15, 2018 in the Peeler Art Center exhibition Baggage Claims. This exhibition presents the work of an international group of 18 artists who explore the impact of the vast scale of population 
mobility. While baggage has always symbolized migration and freedom, in the context of the current global atmosphere it has become an emblem of uncertainty, fear, and change. On an intimate level, baggage transports and holds personal belongings, and by implication is a rich metaphor for individual and family histories. The term baggage also carries significant psychological meaning, referring to the burdens or blessings of those things in life that cannot be left behind. Baggage Claims is the first exhibition to present a new body of work by contemporary artists who are examining these timely themes.
Perhaps best described in Avery’s own words, the installation on view at the Peeler Art Center features:
…” a protagonist [who] traverses a railroad, a canal and a street while carrying an enormous burden of luggage, within which lies the different parts of a mysterious instrument that he assembles and plays in the final scene.
Drawing inspiration from early cinema and contemporary performance artists, I craft this visual yarn keeping in mind moments from my family history. I incorporate the personal stories, implicit in the narratives, hoping to enhance the sense of sincerity and intimacy in the film. In Arranging Suitcases, I draw from the story of how my paternal grandmother transitions in life after her first husband dies. She reconnects with an old friend that she marries and moves with to a new town to start a new life.”
Baggage Claims is organized by the Orlando Museum of Art and curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox, c2 - curatorsquared. The exhibition began a national tour in 2018.This presentation of Baggage Claims is made possible by the Indiana Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the
Efroymson Family Fund, The Janet E. Prindle Institute for Ethics, the Asian Studies Program at DePauw University, and the Peace & Conflict Studies Program at DePauw University.
Contact: Misti Scott
Richard E. Peeler Art Center
DePauw University
765-658-4336
E-mail: mscott@depauw.edu
depauw.edu/arts/peeler/
HOURS AND LOCATION
The galleries at the Richard E. Peeler Art Center are open Monday-Friday 10 am – 4 pm; Saturday 11 am - 5 pm. Exhibitions are closed on Sundays and during University breaks and holidays. Please visit our website at depauw.edu/galleries for the most up-to-date information. The exhibition and related events are free and open to the public.