Sculptural Art Exhibition THUNDERMUSCLE at Mercer Gallery
[Garden City, KS] August 31, 2021 -- The Mercer Gallery is pleased to start the 2021/22 exhibition season with surreal sculptures by Zane Mahanna, a recent FHSU Master of Fine Arts graduate. His exhibition, THUNDERMUSCLE, will be showcased now through October 1st.
A lecture/demonstration/workshop by Mahanna will take place on October 1st from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM. A closing reception will follow from 5 PM to 7 PM, in conjunction with Garden City Arts First Friday events on October 1st.
Zane Mahanna was born and raised in Hoxie, Kansas. A large portion of his adolescent years was spent immersed in the dark arts of heavy metal drumming, fantasy art, and all things lowbrow. While in college at Fort Hays State University, he became involved in the art foundry and the cast iron art community. Trading blast beats for the blast furnace; he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2012 with an emphasis in sculpture. After graduation, he stayed active in iron pours, conferences, and exhibitions, throughout the country.
In 2017 he returned to Fort Hays State University to pursue his MFA degree. Much of his sculptural work is based on traditional foundry practices and seeks to venerate his lowbrow influences with a heavy dose of humor. While completing his MFA, Zane refined his resin bonded sand molds, lost wax/ceramic shell molds, metal casting, and fabrication. Completion of private commissions through local artists and businesses further built upon his skills in a professional manner. His skill set expanded to include large-scale iron casting, resin and plastic casting, lifecasting, traditional printmaking techniques, and digital illustration.
Zane's work has been exhibited in national and international juried exhibitions throughout the country. Upon completing his MFA, Zane's ambition is to stay active in the cast iron art community and pursue a professional career in art foundry.
The Mercer Gallery, located in the west wing of the Pauline Joyce Fine Arts Building on the GCCC campus, is open Monday through Wednesday, from 9 AM to 4 PM, Thursdays from 9 AM to 10 PM, and Fridays from 9 am until 4 pm.
For information, contact Gallery Director Michael Knutson at michael.knutson@gcccks.edu.
ARTIST STATEMENT
When describing his artwork, Zane states, "Born and raised in Western Kansas, I belong to the last of an analog generation. Before the rise of technological hyper-connectivity, the confines of rural isolation meant that the world of fine art, hidden behind the walls of galleries or museums, remained largely inaccessible. Funneled through varying conduits of pop culture, fantasy art, illustration, heavy metal, lowbrow, and Kustom Kulture, all became the collective impetus for making art in my formative years. The veneration of lowbrow art remains a large part of my current work.
Hyperstatic is a designation given to structural elements when internal and external forces acting upon them cannot be definitively calculated. The integrity of equilibrium, therefore, remains undetermined. Much of my work is derived through lost wax casting by pushing materials and processes to an outcome that cannot always be determined. However, an inherent element of chance will always define the final equilibrium of metal from liquid to solid or idea to form.
The juxtaposition of literal, architectural forms against the metaphorical, structural hierarchies that govern society seeks to question the very nature of humanity's equilibrium, often with a dose of comedic elements. The subversive humor manifested in my work is employed to make light of serious questions about the nature of existence and disarm the viewer of preconceived notions about the esoteric seriousness of high art.
The literal and metaphorical connotations associated with hyperstatic equilibrium have become the unifying factors in my current work. By constructing sculptural forms that deconstruct metaphorical ideas, I seek to challenge the statically indeterminate nature of reality humorously," Mahanna continued.
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