Gallery 378 is pleased to welcome back sculptor William Makepeace for his solo Master of Fine Arts Sculpture Exhibition, ATTENTION, opening on Saturday, November 7th, 2020, from 1pm-6pm. William previously exhibited with us in Summer 2019 in our highly successful group exhibition, REPURPOSED. The exhibit will also be open on Friday 11/13 and Saturday 11/14 from 1pm-6pm.
A retrospective of Makepeace’s work over the past two years as an MFA student at SCAD, ATTENTION invites the viewer to attend to new perspectives through provocative sculptures that include forged steel, cast bronze, carved wood, and assemblages from found or repurposed objects. The sculptures included in this exhibition include recognizable objects, as well as more abstract pieces, that are witty, thought provoking, and ask hard questions about socially established standards of beauty, success, safety, and acceptance. As an artist, Makepeace strives to foster an open and honest discourse between viewer and creator that is free from the constraints of social norms, and the noise of media. ATTENTION is the connectivity of a collective continuum expressed with a genuine gesture in respect to time, memory, place, and identity. Each moment yields a conceptual, heightened awareness that invokes a cerebral dialogue of immanence.
ATTENTION provides a cohesive overview of Makepeace’s work to date, and explores the interconnectivity between artistic attention and the duality of intention and personal perception. Retired from the United States Marine Corps and financial industry, William was at a crossroads two years ago when he began his career at SCAD. With no prior hands-on art experience, he knew he wanted to engage his intellect and vast life experiences to create art. According to Makepeace, “I have always been creative, but not in the sense of making art. My creativity has been in my ability to make broad connections, asking difficult questions in order to solve problems. Resolution through critical thinking, I was a creator of ideas.” At SCAD through sculpture, he learned to use his hands to make connections and foster dialogue: “I sculpt in order to promote open and authentic conversation uninhibited by the limitations of imposed social norms and the noise of media. Attention is a condition of readiness involving a selective narrowing or focusing of consciousness and receptivity. As an artist, I stand at attention, stand ready to observe and communicate.” This dynamic exhibition connects real-life experiences and brings attention to hard questions. Makepeace’s sculptures do not try to define answers, but seek to explore the why. Several of his more recent pieces deal directly with current social and political questions, and explore real-time narratives of life in COVID-19 quarantine. ATTENTION will grab your attention. Gallery 378 invites you to share this emerging artist’s body of work.
Please note that masks are required for entry to the gallery and that no more than six people will be allowed per level at any time. The reception will be held outside in front the gallery.