Exhibit by artist Allegra Shunk opens Feb. 12 in DC gallery

February 5, 2018

DEFIANCE, Ohio -An exhibit by artist Allegra Shunk of Cleveland will be open in the Defiance College Women’s Commission Art Gallery beginning Monday, Feb. 12, with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m.

Titled “Hanging Bodies: Restraint and Visibility,” it will run through Feb. 26.

Shunk’s works include many different mediums such as glass, fiber, metalwork and light. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in theatrical lighting design from Vassar College and a master of fine arts in three-dimensional design from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Her work has been shown in galleries in Boston, New York and London.

Shunk’s art explores the psychological turmoil caused by living in a body that society rejects for one reason or another. Working in fluid and responsive mediums like glass and fiber, Shunk strives to communicate both the loneliness and the strength engendered by this othered existence. Made with obvious construction techniques, her work explores the power in labor made visible. These objects, she says, would consider themselves beautiful, not despite their ugliness, but because they reject the idea of “ugly” in favor of vitality.

In the Hanging Bodies series, the commentary is on the perpetual conflict between power gained from achieving societal standards versus that of actively rejecting them.

The artist’s talk on Feb. 12 is free and open to the public. The gallery is located in Dana Hall on Sessions Street.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts-based institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.