Chelsea Means, a local artist and resident of Mansfield, will be hosting an art exhibition at Relax, It’s Just Coffee beginning Jan. 17. The exhibition will be displayed throughout the month, leading into February.
In her artist statement, Means writes, “This body of work was formed around the artist’s struggle to conceptualize and execute an idea. It has developed into a theory of reversal; an original concept is executed then re-made to follow other ideas generated by the existence of the previous work.”
This will be Means’ first exhibition at Relax, It’s Just Coffee, but Means says her interest in art started as a child and her current work has been a decade in the works.
Along with discovering new possibilities with her artwork, she has also added technical details to her piece. Emphasizing the struggle it takes to form a 3D piece of art into 2D is one of Means’ many areas of focus in a diverse body of work. She even might add a 4D component. Means shared that she enjoys the technical aspects such as making and editing videos.
“The exhibit at Relax is performance drawing and painting. The performance is between a model and to form 3D into 2D. We will use our bodies as brushes and the drawing will on the video,” said the artist. “There will be abstract work based on the discarded ink. The referencing point will be discarded material.”
As for her larger work, Means is hesitant to put herself into one genre, she explained, “My artwork is hard to put in one small category because it is about thinking and approaching the idea of art and making it involved with the medium in the process. I want to challenge the viewer to not just see the abstract piece.”
Means composes artwork that makes the viewer become interactive with the piece. She explains that her artwork is abstract and conceptual.
“One of my main points of my work is I want the viewer to be interactive with the piece. I started recreating what would be disregarded ink waste and I have also looked at our manner of approaching it. We look at how we are using a brush and how we are making our mark,” said Means.
Means has made many discoveries throughout herself and her artwork throughout this process. “One thing you learn is what you are concerned about and what direction you want to go. You are always learning and figuring out what you like about your work. You learn about your own initiative and your direction. That was one of the most difficult aspects I had to learn and that was what I am attracted to and it is a long process and never ending. It is always challenging me to go in new directions,” said Means.
The exhibition will host an opening reception Friday, Jan. 17 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m at Relax, It’s Just Coffee, located at 105 North Main St in Mansfield. The band Dirtywax will provide downtempo music.
