The Holland Area Arts Council will feature the collaborative student-faculty exhibition “Standing Upright and Hanging by a Thread” by Hope College senior studio art major Sophia Funston and Lisa Walcott, who is an associate professor of art at the college, from Friday, Oct. 11, through Friday, Nov. 1.
There will be a reception at the Holland Area Arts Council on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Mainstreet Gallery that will include a short artist talk.
The public is invited to the exhibition and the reception. Admission is free.
The exhibit delves into complex dynamics of support, strength and fragility. The works
presented investigate the breaking and mending of support structures, reflecting themes
of ingenuity, resilience and vulnerability. Repeated forms and motions evoke the monotony
of daily life, while an interplay between masculine and feminine qualities is woven
throughout the pieces. Each sculpture embodies the tension between collapse and repair,
challenging perceptions of stability and vulnerability. Drawing inspiration from architectural
elements, the sculptures echo the natural wear and tear of load-bearing structures
— revealing cracks, fractures, and repairs that symbolize endurance and fragility.
The exhibit also takes cues from human anatomy, where bones, ligaments, and muscles
serve as natural support structures. Sculptures that mimic these organic elements
highlight the tension between strength and vulnerability, suggesting parallels between
physical and emotional states.
This body of work was created through a summer research project that focused on the impact that constructed surfaces can have on a sculpture. The research was funded through the college’s Borgeson Scholar Program, founded in 2016 by alumni Clarke and Nancy Borgeson.
The Holland Area Arts Council is located at 150 E. 8th St., between College and Columbia avenues. The galleries’ hours are: Mondays, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.