Michael Rider
“Liminality”

Reception: September 30th, 6-8 pm - RSVP Required
On Display: September 29th - October 3rd, 11am-6pm - By Appointment Only

This exhibition presents a new collection of acrylic work on panel exploring the essence of liminality.

I find something enlightening about these liminal spaces. It is free of absolutes; you’re in a different, enclosed world. It is kind of a safe space as one is not fully committed to either side. It's a contemplative space, a trip. You’re free to make decisions and be as you are, free of conditioning; it simply is what it is. You know it’s only a matter of time till you get over the bridge, onto the next destination.

While traveling on the train, I find the most intriguing landscapes scattered with industrial leftovers left behind our society’s cities and towns. An echo of human intervention. These seem to be othered, forgotten, and desolate. Half-used warehouses, scrap metals lying in the grass, abandoned shops and buildings beside beatdown side roads and back alleys.

During the creation of these works, my grandmother was nearing the end of her life, slowly slipping into death. While visiting her in the hospital, after her stroke, she was in between spaces, in a fog. She couldn’t communicate linearly with words; however, I knew she remembered us. Her communication was abstract, recalling fragments of her life. All of the people and places in the forefront of her mind blurred into oneness.

She would fight to make sense of herself. Confused and frustrated, neither of us could fully comprehend the other. On the precipice of finding the answer, but not quite making it. Despite it all, we still shared a bond. I am reminded that when a door closes, another opens. While we are in between, let’s remind ourselves to find our own sense of peace. Even if we communicate abstractly, couldn’t that be enough? - Michael Rider