Penn State Altoona offers "Escape Route," the work of Jodi Lightner

Sunday, April 1, 2012 - 412 hits

Escape Route, an exhibition of work by Emerging Artist in Residency, Jodi Lightner, will be on display in the McLanahan Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts April 5 - 29, 2012. A reception will be held from 3 - 5 p.m., Thursday, April 5 in the Titelman Study of the Center.

A Kansas native, Lightner completed her MFA degree at Wichita State University in 2010. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including juried and invitational shows. Her work has been seen in Angle Gallery, Seattle; AIR Gallery, New York City; and Cara and Cabezas Contemporary in Kansas City as well as other locations throughout the United States. She has also participated in artist residencies focused on studio practice at the International School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy, and the Vermont Student Center in Johnson, Vermont. Lightner is represented by Kim Weinberger in Kansas City.

Lightner states, “A secret wish of mine has been to discover hidden doors and passageways in the dwellings that I’ve occupied in hopes that they will lead to a secret history for me to unravel. The wish has little to do with arriving at a new destination and more to do with being in the unknown space. Never have I made my discovery of such an escape route, though it brings me to consider the space and time it takes to transfer oneself from one place to another.

Our ways of escape may be mental or physical; they may offer transition from one location to another or one state of mind to a different thought. It is the passing through the interstitial from one idea or location to another that remains the connecting point between both sides. This connecting point can be a quick transition as the mind can make short work of shifting our thoughts to another space aside from the present. It can also be long transference, utilizing flights of stairs that delay the arrival at a ground level destination. Focusing on the interstitial space that exists between leaving a space and arriving at a destination I am looking at the use of structure to convey our movement.”

The galleries are open Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and before and during all performances. For further information, call the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at 814-949-5452.