Converge Gallery is excited to present works by local artist, painter, printmaker and photographer John McKaig for their latest exhibition “Just Another Sentient Being.” The exhibition opens on Friday, May 6th and the artist will be in attendance during the opening. The exhibition runs from May 6th – 28th, 2016.
John McKaig is from Williamsport and is currently a professor at Bloomsburg University and the Pennsylvania College of Technology, teaching drawing, photography and art history. He has previously taught drawing, painting, printmaking and photography at the Interlochen Arts Academy for 15 years and Syracuse University for 12 years. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States and internationally. McKaig creates pictures that help him explore the idea of escape, ideas of mortality and passage after life, how to deal with trauma and healing from that trauma. His use of the figure explores his identity as a gay man that is still expected to justify his experiences and basic human identity. He uses nautical imagery, water and the human figure in order to communicate essential ideas of how we relate to each other, how we affect each other, and how to move to space that is empowering and encouraging. John often depicts the figure (or figurative elements or components) in situations or stances that allude to ideas of fighting back, play and wonderment, as well as stoicism and quiet resolve. He also works with the idea of “passage” and “journey” not only to communicate ideas of healing and working through trauma, but also to communicate the idea of growing beyond limitations and definitions of being. He is drawn towards working in a way that drawing is a basis for this exploration. He tries to remain open to how the inherent qualities of a specific medium can help him communicate both subtle and dramatic ideas related to his thesis. So, he moves between printmaking, drawing and painting in order to remain active and positive in his process.
“Just Another Sentient Being” will be on display from May 6th – 28th with an opening reception planned for Friday, May 6th at 6:00 PM. The gallery is located at 140 West Fourth Street, Williamsport, PA and gallery hours are Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and Saturday from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm. For more information on the gallery, please visit www.convergegallery.com
About Converge Gallery
Converge Gallery was founded in 2011. The gallery, already internationally recognized for its ambitious program, has been extremely selective and focused on both emerging and notable mid-career artists with an increasingly more conceptual direction oriented to display the most challenging and innovative art. What we are trying to do, without any pretense to define art, is to elevate the discussion about art, reality and perception. Converge Gallery’s goal is to sell the meaning and cultural context of an artwork along with the individual point of view of the artist that, encouraged to aim for a certain level of aesthetic value, clarity of content and vision is also required, as well as the ideal collector, to have an extensive knowledge about the intricate dynamics of contemporary art. The greatest achievement for us would be to extend the boundaries of art beyond art itself and generate a dialectic exchange between artist and general public by interacting with the other disciplines with the objective to determine a wider understanding of what is happening here and now. For all press inquiries, photo requests and a PDF catalog of the exhibition, please contact John Yogodzinski, Director, Converge Gallery : john@convergegallery.com. Web: www.convergegallery.com. Tel: 570.435.7080 Address: Converge Gallery 140 West 4th Street, Williamsport, PA 17701, USA