[Opening / Closing]
Cairns: Works by Pam Rogers

About This Event

Working with a broad array of organic materials in various states of bloom and decay, Pam Rogers addresses the relationship between individuals and nature in her work, exploring cultural issues related to sustainability and growth. Rogers creates fluid, abstract works on paper as well as sculptural installations that utilize plants and soil pigments, culled in part for this exhibition from the environs of Reston itself, creating a direct connection between events, relationships and materials. Rogers' sculptural installations, whether suspended or earth-bound, feature flowers, leaves, grasses and other organic materials bound into massive, suggestive forms that are infused with an ominous, compelling beauty. The artist observes, "I am always intrigued with presenting beauty with elements that challenge the viewer to question what lurks beneath. In examining the relationship between people, plants, and place, I continually try to weave the strings of art and agriculture and myth and magic, healing and hurting into an inquisitive whole that calls us to look at the germination of a sustainable future, individually and collectively."

Rogers' work draws on metaphors associated with traditional landscape painting, expanding and upending those conventions in her sculptural installations and complex works on paper. A close examination of her work yields exquisite passages of paint and assemblages of blossoms, counter-balanced by choking binding, incipient decay, or the grotesque suggestion of a tiny creature hopelessly trapped in the organic matter. To some extent, Rogers' work is a modern, conceptual re-thinking of the historical concept of the "momento mori," or a reminder of the eventuality of death. Her use of organic materials reinvents the classic still life and landscape traditions, placing a contemporary spin on the concept of beauty within decay, death within life, and the ultimate ephemerality of all existence.

Born in Boulder, Colorado, Rogers studied art history and anthropology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and completed a certificate in botanical illustration through program based in Kew Gardens, England. Pam received an M.F.A. in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design and a B.A. in art history from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she was also the Curator of Visual Resources. She exhibits her work in both solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Pam has worked on numerous curatorial projects and has received fellowships at multiple artist residency programs including the Art Institute of Chicago's Ox-Bow Art Center and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Rogers works out of her studio at the Arlington Arts Center, and also serves as an independent illustrator with the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.