City Artists at Work Presents Lost and Found

It takes the eye of an artist to find significance in that which the rest of us have overlooked. “Lost & Found “ is an exhibit of three such artists, all from Summit County working within the mediums of collage and assemblage.

Marcia Mazak, Gwen Waight and Bret Hines have all focused their talents on the forgotten fragments of man and nature that are found around them everyday. They share an appreciation for the thing that is old, worn, weathered or broken. Such detritus has a history to tell and in their capable hands a magical transformation takes place that pulls these objects from their original contexts and gives them a new life.

Bret Hines’ work developed from his love for the architecture of Ohio. He visits buildings slated for demolition and  reclaims the minutia of the interiors for his assemblages. This process involves researching the buildings history, which  informs the associations in his work. He’s attentive to architectural details, which define the character of an interior.

Hines regularly incorporates his photographs of buildings, windows and doorways as part of his assemblage technique.  This combination of photographs with the architectural elements results in haunting works with a dreamy, and often  melancholy atmosphere. One day while hiking, Gwen Waight had an epiphany. She spotted an old, cracked,  ball. It  intrigued her so, she picked it up. The history within the surface and the mystery of the discarded object enthralled her.  She has since amassed a collection of thousands of similar objects. Anything and everything can be found within her  house and studio. Her collection is bound by the connection that she feels to these objects and she combines them  into  sculptures that are frequently anthropomorphic, whimsical, and ironic. Waights work  often comments on our pop  culture and its obsessions, reminding us that we should not take ourselves too seriously.

Marcia Mazak’s work extends stylistically across the widest range. After a hiatus from painting Mazak’s focus shifted to  mixed media and collage. She now uses paper, paint, pastel, fiber, found objects and photographs to communicate in a  way that challenges and gratifies. Her work is textural and often references nature and geologic formations. The rocks,  mesas and arroyos of New Mexico, where she once lived, continue to influence her. Her stratified paper collages are a metaphor for Earth’s history and time. The archetypal symbols and geometric patterns she uses hold personal meanings  for her. She writes, “With the use of my varied materials I strive to present reflections of the past with a contemporary  statement of our world”.