Past
“An Intimate Portrait of Motherhood “
Works by Katie Doyle & Anna Ogier-Bloomer
On View: February 29th – April 1st
Opening Reception: February 29, 5-7pm
This exhibition forces the viewer to confront the sensual, intimate nature of breastfeeding and the physical mother-child relationship. Through photography and video, these two artists use the lens to examine and cope with the physical, emotional and mental complexities of the mother’s body. Doyle’s work gives the audience a vantage point so close they feel as if they’re seeing from inside her, while her son suckles and consumes milk or entangles his soft limbs in hers. Ogier-Bloomer’s photographs utilize a frank, unapologetic voice shared between image-maker and subject: whether she appears in the image with her daughter, her mother, or from behind the camera. Both artists examine this unique maternal communication based in touch—a language without words, rooted in biology and the senses.
“Toilet Nurse Nipple” – Anna Ogier-Bloomer, 2015
“Breastfeeding Bed” – Katie Doyle, 2014
Khaled al-Saa’i Recent Works
On View: February 29th – April 1st
Opening Reception: February 29th, 4:30 – 6:30pm
Born in Syria, Khaled al-Saa’i is an internationally acclaimed painter and calligraphic artist. Khaled’s passion can be located at the level of the letter itself. He sees himself as a painter and a “letterist”. For Khaled, letters are living entities that carry and express multiple dimensions from the musical and verbal, to the spiritual, emotional and sensual. While Khaled’s early career focused on traditional Islamic and Arabic calligraphy, his later work moves away from the word and embraces the Arabic letter, while deconstructing and rebuilding it. His process allows it to populate and interact with a visual world that also incorporates oil painting, traditional ink calligraphy, mixed media and collage techniques.
Khaled has won numerous competitions, including the highly prestigious International Competition in Calligraphy held in Istanbul, and the Modernity of Arabic Calligraphy Competition held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. His work has been celebrated in over thirty solo exhibitions held in several countries and venues: Mexico, Kuwait, Dubai, Morocco, the UK, Germany, and at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. His pieces have also appeared in larger exhibitions held in Wiesbaden, Madrid, New York, Zurich, San Pedro, Sharjah, Bahrain, Damascus, Paris and London.
Khaled has visited Wellesley on three previous occasions. During his visits he has held small exhibitions and visited numerous classes, mostly in Arabic language. He has also ran workshops at which he presented calligraphic forms, demonstrated techniques, and assisted participants in creating calligraphic works of their own.
“A Story of Two Cities” 40 x 65 cm, Ink, Acrylic and Collage on Paper. 2014
On View: January 25–February 26
Reception: January 26 (Tue) | 4:00 PM
Artist Talk: February 25 (Thu) | 12:30 PM
Sculpture Court Gallery, Jewett Arts Center
Examining the relationships and disparities between the history of painting, trademark,
and entertainment, Thomas Willis’ installation brings a representation of the hedonic Las Vegas Strip to the academic Jewett Arts Center with his conceptual art brand, Retrofit Painting. Part parody, part praise, the brand is a designer label and online store created to market and sell paintings crafted as objects for everyday use. The exhibition surrounds the “products” and “promotional materials” of Retrofit Painting with the cultural elements of a Las Vegas nightclub to create a theatrical setting for viewing the art. Willis is the Technology Support Specialist for the Department of Art at Wellesley, managing
the photo, video, and new media labs and equipment for the Jewett Arts Center.
Standard Practice explores the intersection of nationalism, patriotism and social rituals. The work in this exhibition looks at how patriotism is being institutionalized and choreographed in our society. By studying, re-performing and drawing the body languages of professional athletes and audience during the rendition of the National Anthem at the beginning of sports events, I examine the common practice of putting “the right hand over the heart” as a manifestation and declaration of loyalty to a country.
Jewett Art Gallery at Wellesley College 
Clara, thanks so much for getting this done! It looks great and will be a great help!