Bowed by the Wait of It All | Kayley Berezney

Littman Gallery | April 17–27, 2017

Reception: Wednesday, April 19, 5–7 pm

Gallery Talk: Wednesday, April 26, 4 pm.

The Littman Gallery is pleased to present Bowed by the Wait of it All by Kayley Berezney, a solo exhibition presented as part of MFA Season 2017 Portland State University School of Art + Design Masters of Fine Art in Contemporary Art Practice: Studio. This exhibition will run from April 17- 27 2017 with an opening reception on Wednesday, April 19, at 5pm. The artist will also present a Gallery Talk on Wednesday, April 26, at 4pm.

In Bowed by the Wait of it All, Kayley Berezney responds to her experience living with metastatic breast cancer. The artist explores her physically changing and exhausted body. She uses materials in excess such as containers, rope, styrofoam and lumber combined with plaster, a substance that goes through a transformation from dust to liquid to solid and back to dust. Berezney’s recent work shows a fascination in the complexities of cause and effect. A body undergoing treatment is simultaneously repairing and damaging itself. By looking at changes in the body as physical manifestations of experience, the artist creates sculptural objects exhibiting impermanence.

As a sculptor, Berezney is concerned with the anti-monumental tradition of creating precarious and unwieldy forms that have been poured, squeezed, fragmented and submerged. Every material participates in a sensuous and tactile process. Bowed by the Wait of it All speaks to the difficulty of containing and preserving a form that is ever changing. The frustration of obtaining balance within unpredictable circumstances is potent in the work; it is an inquiry into one’s own mortality. Berezney’s sculptural work holds on to the impression of feeling alien to your body and self while exploring the material sum of its parts.

Kayley Berezney (born 1991 Rochester, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist. She holds a BFA (2013) in Painting & Sculpture from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. Upon graduating, Berezney joined Big Irv’s an artist collective and gallery in Brooklyn, NY. As event coordinator she produced monthly art and music programming. In 2014 she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, this life-changing experience influenced her decision to pursue a Master of Fine Arts. Berezney is currently based in Portland, OR and is a Contemporary Art Practice MFA (2017) candidate at Portland State University. Berezney has exhibited throughout the United States including Massery Gallery, Piccotte Gallery, Essex Gallery, Mad Lark, Center for Art and Design, Silent Barn, and Pioneer Works with a forthcoming solo exhibition at Disclaimer Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.