Arts and Culture

Claira Heizenrater to showcase memento mori at The Station Gallery

LOCK HAVEN -- Contemporary painter Claira Heizenrater, of Dubois, will be showcasing her work at the Station Gallery, 2 E. Bald Eagle St., starting Friday, Sept. 14 as part of the gallery's Invitational Artists Series.

Heitzenrater show, titled memento mori, will take the viewer on a journey that shows nothing lasts forever but that isn't all bad.

"One of the great truths of life is that nothing lasts forever," she said in her statement about memento mori. "Throughout our lifetime, we are subject to impermanence in myriad ways; death, fleeting moments and the loss of objects and memories."

Even as a child, she possessed an awareness of death, she continued. "The constant reminder of my own transience is both provocative and terrifying," she said.

Initially, this awareness served to only cause her anxiety. However, over time she began to use this fear in a more positive way.

"I utilize that fear to drive my work in hopes of discovering and accepting that I am not meant to exist as a permanent fixture in the world, but rather as a temporary impression on its surface," she said.

"In my paintings I harness this state of flux," she said, "employing varying degrees of abstraction and rendering to reinforce the absence and presence with my observed forms."

She scrapes away paint and removes portions of the composition to create "ghosts" within the picture, she continued. Which functions as a present spirit or manifestation and an absent memory.

"I deliver content to the viewer via the use of surrogates for people, being viewed from an outside perspective, their relationships mimicking that of human interaction," she said.

"The surrogates I place in my paintings are of a domestic nature," she said. The objects she chooses to paint are domestic objects because "they are meant to be handled by human hands in order to function, promoting their familiarity."

Heitzenrater's body of work explores impermanence through the alternative avenue of living in the present moment with the constant mantra of "remember that you have to die", the English translation of Memento Mori.

"This group of paintings aims to capture brief moments in time, surrounded in comfort, while still employing the ghosts of lives past," she said.

Heitzenrater holds an MFA in painting from Edinboro University and a BFA in Studio Are from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

She was featured in issue 11 of Fresh Paint Magazine, issue 38 of Studio Visit Magazine and various regional publications.

"The Clinton County Arts Council (CCAC) is happy to bring this talented artist into Lock Haven to share her interpretation of ideas into paint," CCAC President Carol Cillo said. "We first saw her works exhibited in Dubois, and find her handling of media and abstractions of objects fascinating. We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful gallery in our area, a gem of a building to house the imagination of many."

Cillo encourages all local artists to come and see Heizenrater's work.

"We can all use inspiration … just come on over to join us at the reception, chat with someone about what you see and take home a new burst of energy," she said.

"My hope is that the surrounding community will take advantage of these exhibits which strive to present fresh ideas and use of media to our area," she continued. "Not only do they provide opportunities to see something not usually presented in Lock Haven, but they offer a chance to talk to the artist and hear about her own experiences through the creation of these works."