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Although Syracuse University master’s student Cady Spencer and alumna Katie Shulman have two different methods of creating art, they were still able to collaborate to create “A Waltz Between Worlds.”

The exhibit, which ran from Nov. 2 through Friday, was located at Random Access Gallery in Smith Hall. “A Waltz Between Worlds” served as a platform to showcase Spencer and Shulman’s work. It was also the first exhibit at Random Access since the gallery reopened.

The showcase’s name originated from the fact that the artists were able to combine their different sculptures and make them interact with each other. The two artists used different methods to create their work, which features sculptures made of different materials.

Spencer used polystyrene foam in her sculptures because it is easy for one person to carry around and allows her to be more independent as a person and an artist, she said. Shulman utilizes a lot of weaving and wrapping with materials such as cloth to make her sculptures.

Brett Morgan, the curator of the exhibit, was intrigued about the exhibit after hearing Spencer and Shulman pitched it to the gallery last year. Morgan operated as a “third artist” during the creation of the exhibit and decided how the layout of the exhibit should be, Shulman said. He was also able to make the components of the sculptures from the two artists “talk to each other” through strategic placement.

Initially, Spencer and Shulman had pitched a normal two-person show. But with Morgan’s extensive involvement throughout the creation of the exhibit, the two artists’ different art styles were able to flow together, Shulman said.

The exhibit, which ran from Nov. 2 through Friday, was located at Random Access Gallery in Smith Hall. Courtesy of Brett Morgan

“Our works were literally combining and interacting with one another. I don’t think Cady and I ever imagined our works would be so intertwined,” Shulman said.

Morgan, who is a graduate student at SU, believes the two artists also played a big role in the creation of the exhibit.

“What’s really nice about the project is we were all able to trust each other,” he said. “It takes a lot of trust from an artist to open up their studio and let someone else in and kind of let me present the work, maybe how I sort of saw it and then kind of collaborate with them and come up with something.”

Much of this trust stems from the three of them being friends before the exhibit was even made. The trio first met each other through a critique class they took in fall 2018.

COVID-19 has been an obstacle for the exhibit. Usually Random Access Gallery holds an opening night when it showcases new work, which serves as a hub for graduate students and other people in the Syracuse community. But an opening like this isn’t possible due to social distancing measures.

Regardless of the coronavirus pandemic, the exhibit has been successful. Because fewer people are allowed in at a time, the artists had their work cover more space in a room than it would during an exhibit showcase before the pandemic.

Because of this, the exhibit creates a close, intimate relationship between the viewer and the work of art that viewers wouldn’t normally get in a room packed with people during a pre-pandemic opening, Shulman said.

Even though the last day for “A Waltz Between Worlds” was last Friday, the artists hope to continue creating work that is similar to the work in the exhibit.

“This iteration of the show at Random Access is over, but I do think it has sort of given the three of us this example of how to create really intimate art experiences for a single person,” Shulman said.

Published on November 11, 2020 at 11:55 pm

Contact Siron: sthoma10@syr.edu | @sironthomas