Shifting Spaces: Rachel Hellmann, Ben Marcin, Ryan Parker

The artists in Shifting Spaces -- Rachel Hellman, Ben Marcin, and Ryan Parker – draw inspiration from architectural environments, manipulating forms of color, line, and shape to reveal unique perspectives of space and place.

Rachel Hellman (Terra Haute, IN) paints on shaped forms to suggest the experience of an interior architectural place; the paintings explore how perception is affected by the interplay of geometry, light, and color.

Ben Marcin (Baltimore, MD) creates photographs that encourage contemplations on the co-existence of man-made and organic surroundings, occupied and empty spaces, and the remnants of our past with our present.

And Ryan Parker (Philadelphia, PA) creates traditional etchings and contemporary GIF animations based on conceptual worlds built with a 3D modeling program.

The images fall between an abstract space and a figurative inhabitable one, underscoring the ambiguity of space and image and the visual tension between old and new technology. Together, the works by all three artists pay homage to the urban landscape by acknowledging the surrounding architecture, the artist’s own hand, and the human experience.