Through the Red Door Exhibition

8 emerging artists, postgraduate students from Cambridge School of Art, invite you to come 'Through the Red Door' and into the Crypt below East Road’s Zion Chapel to a subterranean exhibition, conceived and curated as a group.

In his 1990 essay ‘Resonance and Wonder’, Stephen Greenblatt explored two of the most central concepts that inform a museum-goer’s experience. Resonance, he asserts, is “the power of the displayed object to reach out beyond its formal boundaries to a larger world, to evoke in the viewer the complex, dynamic cultural forces from which it has emerged and for which it may be taken by a viewer to stand.” Wonder, by contrast, is invoked by the object’s ability to “stop the viewer in his or her tracks, to convey an arresting sense of uniqueness, to evoke an exalted attention.” This exhibition seeks to do both at the same time and provide an experience of wonderful resonance and resonant wonder!

MA Course Leader Dr. Véronique Chance says: "The Crypt space at the Zion Baptist Chapel, is not your traditional or typical gallery space, and as such, it offers these emerging artists the opportunity to challenge themselves in the presentation and display of their work, which will react to the unusual features and architecture of this basement location, as much as the external sites they have responded to. The viewer should also be challenged in terms of their expectations. The shadow image of the heron spray-painted on the red door to the Crypt by coincidence, makes an interesting visual connection with the ARU heron logo, leading the viewer to ponder on a possible connection and to wonder what is indeed 'Through the Red Door'. “

Exhibiting artist Emily Andreasson adds: “One of the most exciting things about curating this exhibition has been the ability to collaborate with artists and friends that I deeply respect, and the prospect of being able to share and engage our work with a live audience” The work in Through the Red Door – an eclectic mix of painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and more – is inspired by the artists’ current practice and is adapted to the Crypt space from their individual work on different specific sites across Cambridge and beyond. Expect to be both visually and mentally stimulated.

Opening Event Thursday 31st March 5-7pm. Continues to 5th April 12-5pm. Closed Monday 4th April.

Event contact: jas310@student.aru.ac.uk