JASPER — Artists Brandon Smith and Jan Kirstein Rigor have work gracing one exhibit hall at Thyen Clark Cultural Center in Jasper from Feb. 1 to April 21. The two artists work in different mediums and dimensions, with their pairing creating visual complements and contrasts.
Brandon Smith
Smith constructs sculptures out of rough woods and elegant metal. He uses reclaimed scrap and develops his work, which he says is “a unique combination of industrial materials and elements from nature.” The pieces describe the combination of an “Industrial Nature,” he said.
Outside of art, Smith has worked in the coal industry for about 20 years. He currently works the Gibson South Coal Mine in Owensville, Ind., while living in Carmi, Ill. Smith has enjoyed art since high school, he said, and later studied it at college, though didn’t want to rely on it to make a living. He’d spent two years majoring in art at Southeastern Illinois College. SIC was where he began to explore metals, woods and clay to make his sculpture series today.
He began the series in 2020. Smith said he doesn’t plan with pencil and paper but is influenced by the shapes of the materials he uses. “I tend to visualize most of my pieces in my head. I strive to create a strong physical presence with all of my sculptures,” he said.
The time frame to create a piece varies — a sculpture can take anywhere from one day to months. It’s an ongoing body of work, he said, and could end up with 30 or 40 pieces. Afterwards, he would like to explore color as a next series.
Jan Kirstein Rigor
Rigor has been experimenting with digital medium for her recent series of paintings. However, she couldn’t stop with the digital finished product and began painting over the top of them to form her exhibit at the culture center.
“There’re a thousand ways to paint a picture,” Rigor said on the night of the exhibit. “Collage is part of the process.” Brush strokes and abstract imagery combine together to speak to the subconscious and the subconscious speaks about the painting, she explained. “There is meaning in connections. I want the viewer to see my paintings from their own experience,” she said.
Drawing and painting are her usual style, with digital as experimental. Rigor revealed she would make a digital design but it would print with pixilation, so instead she used the digital print as a map to create her painting.
She described her exhibit as the “Kimono series.” Kimonos, she explained, were very popular in Japan and everyone wore one, no matter their social class. Kimonos were a cultural movement that bridged the gaps, she explained.
Rigor has been studying and producing art for 40 years, having began in graduate school at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Rigor has been producing art her entire adult life. She could always put together another show with all her art. “Stopping is not an option,” she said.
Thyen Clark Cultural Center
The galleries at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, located at 100 3rd Avenue, Suite A, Jasper, IN 47546, are open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. School groups, clubs, and students are welcome. Admission is free. Donations appreciated.
For more information, call 812-482-3070. Jasper Community Arts is a department of the City of Jasper. JCA is supported in part by Friends of the Arts, Inc., the Indiana Arts Commission, The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
