Since 2009, Durden and Ray have been curating shows with artists in LA and from around the globe. For the first time in its history, the well known and respected artist/curatorial collective invited new artists to show in their gallery via an open call.
After accepting applications for SPOTLIGHT24, the Durden and Ray member committee reviewed the applications and selected two artists to host concurrent solo exhibitions in the gallery. We are thrilled to announce the two winning artists are Shannon Freshwater and Nadine Schelbert. Join us on August 16th from 7-10pm at Durden and Ray gallery to experience a presentation of work by both artists.
Shannon Freshwater grew up in Las Vegas and was raised by Mormons, Southern Baptists, and hippie artists. She has an aesthetic interest in the façade, both physical and psychological and is attracted to the ruptures within normalcy and a tension between objects, characters, spaces, and timelines. High and low, old and new, found and crafted equally intertwine in her work without hierarchies. Shannon uses AI image generators to visualize ideas and scenarios that are then replicated and made physical as sculpture, costume, video, and installation. While the uncanny dread, confusion, and horror found in AI imagery is reflected in her work, the technology remains a specter in the background, unseen in the final product. The function of repetition, obsessive attention to detail, rhythm, and pattern transforms anxieties and anger into a meditative act for Shannon but not necessarily for the viewer. Her work has been described as confrontational, unnerving, absurd and often psychologically dark. She has a BFA in Illustration from Art Center College of Design and an MFA in sculpture from Cal State University Long Beach. She teaches at Cal State University Northridge and at Art Center College of Design.
Nadine Schelbert is a Swiss artist based in Los Angeles. She holds degrees from Lausanne Hotel School in Switzerland and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and is currently pursuing an MFA in ceramics and sculpture at California State University, Long Beach. Born in Berlin and raised in Zurich and Geneva, Nadine has lived and worked in Japan, Hong Kong, and Ecuador before settling in Los Angeles. Her international background and early training in art, combined with professional experience in hotel management and design, continue to inform her fine art practice. Nadine’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Los Angeles and internationally.