Exhibition: shifting baselines at Keene Arts (Oct 11-Nov 10)

shifting baselines: Ali Della Bitta and Drew Goerlitz

October 11th - November 10th

Exhibition walk through: Tuesday, October 29, 7pm

Keene Arts
10881 Route 73
Keene, NY

Hours: Saturday and Sunday 12-5pm

DOWNLOAD EXHIBITION CHECK LIST (PDF)

Press (NCPR): Sculpture and art examine the Adirondacks and our changing environment by Amy Feiereisel

Keene Arts presents “shifting baselines,” an exhibition that merges the individual studio practices of North Country based sculptors Ali Della Bitta and Drew Goerlitz.

The title “shifting baselines” references the continuous environmental degradation at local, regional, and global levels as referenced through ceramic, steel, wood, and photography. Without true knowledge or real experience of past ecological conditions, each new generation risks perceiving the environment they grow up in as what is normal. This exhibition toes the line between what we know and what might happen next.

"shifting baselines," unites Della Bitta and Goerlitz’s distinct artistic voices to explore how perceived boundaries between nature and human experience evolve over time. Della Bitta’s masterful ceramic based works reflect the intricate beauty of the Adirondack wilderness, while Goerlitz’s striking steel sculptures and photo-based installations ask viewers to confront the impact of human activity on the environment. Together, their works create a dialogue about the shifting challenges of what is considered “natural” in our ever-changing world—especially in the High Peaks. This exhibition invites viewers to reconsider their perceptions of landscape. 

Accepting that the understanding of our world and our relationship to it is continually expanding, their artwork, often crafted from reclaimed materials, reflect a deep commitment to sustainability while capturing the transient nature of our surroundings.

Article: Meet Drew Goerlitz and Ali Della Bitta

STORIES & INSIGHTS: Meet Drew Goerlitz and Ali Della Bitta

Published by CANVAS REBEL

October 17, 2022

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We were lucky to catch up with Drew Goerlitz and Ali Della Bitta recently and have shared our conversation below.

Drew and Ali, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

We are currently working on the most meaningful project we have pursued in all collaborative endeavors so far. Our new business is a brainchild that came from wanting independent artists to have a platform to share and sell their work without having a large percentage taken from their earnings. Contemporary North Artist Collective aims to promote and support artists.

Drew and Ali, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Ali Della Bitta and I both pursued degrees in visual arts and focused in sculpture. In 2002 we met while attending a sculpture park residency in Minnesota. We worked well together and each brought different concepts, approaches and backgrounds of art making to the table.

Our first collaborative commision was a public art project in Silver Springs, MD that was focused on repairing the ecosystem of a community park. The concept of artwork promoting the natural ecosystem and surrounding environment has become a common thread over the last 20 years of our collaborative work..

Archive (Jul 2009): The Amphitheater at Franconia Sculpture Park

Amphitheater highlights ‘everything is art’ attitude

Published by Press Publications, White Bear Lake, MN

July 14, 2009

by Kyle Weaver

LISTEN TO INTERVIEW HERE

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The face of the Franconia Sculpture Park is ever-changing.

That’s why even in its outrageousness, the park’s recent transformation of a wide, flat weedy area into an amphitheater and stage area with rolling hills isn’t all that radical. In a 31-day marathon of construction, sculptors Ali Della Bitta and Drew Goerlitz last week completed the new amphitheater they designed and built.

“It’s amazing how much it’s changed,” Goerlitz said. “It was just a weedy field.”

The new amphitheater area features a roofed stage and a series of 30 granite benches culled from local sources that are built into the landscaping. The amphitheater area is framed and surrounded by rows of trees — sugar maples, tamarack pines and silver birches.From the back view, facing the stage, most of the benches are hidden by subtle mounds of earth.

“When you stand back here, it looks totally different than from up front,” said John Hock, co-founder and CEO of the sculpture park, during a recent interview.

That’s by design, Hock said, because the park is intended for a multitude of uses.

Hock said the amphitheater will become a centerpiece for the park’s larger annual events, such as its annual Hot Metal Pour art event or its annual concert festival, but the space should also should serve a functional, day to day purpose.

“It’s a gathering space when it’s not a performing space,” Goerlitz said.

The duality of the space’s functions played a role in its design, said Goerlitz and Della Bitta. The couple, who both teach art and sculpting at the State University of New York — Plattsburgh, won a bid to create the park addition.

The theme for the amphitheater was for it to be functional, yet to have a playful, child-like, “king-of-the-mountain idea” as illustrated by the earthen mounds, Della Bitta said.

The trees around the amphitheater, Della Bitta said, were planted in such a way as to create walls around the space once they grow in fully.

Della Bitta and Goerlitz said that while both of them have been sculptors for more than 10 years, they have never collaborated on any project on such a large scale.

“This is definitely our first big public collaboration,” Della Bitta said. “It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating.”

The couple was aware of the other finalists for the project and were happy to get the chance.

“The sculpture community is really small once you get into it,” DellaBitta said.

Though proud of their work, the artists intoned that they were looking forward to its completion and the 22-hour drive back to Plattsburgh, N.Y.

“As soon as they put the last nail in the roof, they’re gone,” Hock said.

Hock said the amphitheater area is part of a larger comprehensive landscaping and site plan for the park. Landscape architect Shane Coen, who helped design the Jackson Meadows subdivision in Marine on St. Croix, is the principal architect of the park plan.

With the slumping economy, Hock said, the sculpture park has been thinking of ways to increase revenue for the park, which is mostly funded through donations and grants. The amphitheater is one of those ideas — it is intended to be a space that can be used by groups, for weddings or parties, in addition to concerts and art shows.

“This will give us an opportunity to rent it out; it’s a little more formal” than before, Hock said.

Hock said the park is also looking into creating an artist designed mini golf course and wants to expand its musical offerings as well.

“We want to keep the music things more toward the hip, family-friendly stuff,” Hock said.

For more on the Franconia Sculpture Park visit the park’s Web site at http://www.franconia.org.

Source: https://www.presspubs.com/amphitheater-highlights-everything-is-art-attitude/article_d2c99602-e610-5591-af6b-5ec7db58c3ae.html