Here Today: Cassie Butcher and Jeremy Russell

Art & Light Gallery presents Here Today an exhibition of work by Cassie Butcher (Asheville, N.C.) and Jeremy Russell (Asheville, N.C.) launching on the Art & Light website and in the gallery at 10am (EST) on Tuesday, September 1 with an opening reception on Friday, September 4 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM. Cassie Butcher grew up in West Virginia and went to Berea College where she majored in Art and Psychology. Shortly after graduating, she had the opportunity to go to the Penland School of Craft to study glaze chemistry. In March 2004, Butcher was granted a resident artist position at Odyssey ClayWorks in Asheville, N.C. where she continues to live and work today. She creates ceramic sculptures inspired by the way human beings relate to one another, exploring human relationships and interactions. By stripping the figure of details that would lead to a specific identity, she makes room for the viewer to create a personal reflective narrative and hopes to evoke a deeper sense of empathy. Butcher refers to these basic clay figures as “souls” because they touch on the essence of humanity, rather than physical appearance or circumstance. In a world driven by individuality, her sculptures remind viewers that we are not all that different at our core, reconnecting us to each other through shared universal experience. For the exhibition Here Today, the still, contemplative nature of Cassie Butcher’s souls provides a moment of pause, challenging viewers to fully enjoy and experience the moment they are currently in rather than rushing to the next thing. Jeremy Russell, an abstract expressionist landscape painter from Asheville, N.C., received his BFA from the University of North Carolina, Asheville. Prior to pursuing a full-time studio practice, Russell established a robust technical foundation through his work as a muralist and a painter for theatrical sets, cinematic productions, and theme park attractions. His creative process investigates the inherent tension between chaos and structure. Russell’s landscape paintings dissolve the boundaries between abstract expressionism and tangible reality, prioritizing the visceral sensation of a specific moment, like the rush of a stream or the shift of light, over a strictly representational rendering of the environment. In the Here Today exhibition Russell captures the experience of a specific, passing moment by prioritizing the fleeting, temporary nature of time, light and feeling over static realism. By focusing on the movement of a stream or the shifting of light his paintings serve as a visual reminder of a precise time and place.