Katherine Scot Ashby
studio art // ksashbyportfolio.com // @k8sketchbookThe Journey in Three Parts
My exhibition is designed to invite the observer into a realm where the universal ideas of spirituality, freedom, unification, and significance can be explored. While not everyone professes a faith in a spiritual being, many of the world's citizens do and civilization can be described by the way in which individuals of different beliefs and nonbeliefs interact.
Faith and community are inextricably linked. That is, faith is sought, developed, and challenged in the community. These works remind us of the importance of the government to protect the sacred and Constitutional right to assemble. They also remind us that ritualistic environments form perceptions of our own beliefs as well as the beliefs of others. These perceptions contribute to the freedoms we celebrate in the United States as well as to the divisiveness that plagues American culture today.
The painting on the left represents the beginning of the search for faith, within a structured and familiar or recognizable environment. The painting is of a traditional Western Christian church where people of all races, ethnicities, genders, and belief systems have assembled. There are several spiritual metaphors within the painting that speak to the relationship between building and soul.
The painting on the right represents the continued search for faith, exploring an environment similar to yet different from the first. The painting is of a traditional Jewish synagogue where the same people in the other paintings are present searching their hearts and souls for truth. Again, the building is purposely monochromatic to de-emphasize its structural importance compared to the heart and soul.
The painting in the middle represents the community that is established by deep and true faith. The same people in the other paintings are not afraid to discuss their own faith or the faith of others.
