Centa Schumacher

An Ear of Grain in Silence Reaped
Nathan Byrne and Centa Schumacher
Art Ark Gallery, San Jose, CA - September 2017

An Ear of Grain in Silence Reaped is the culmination of Nathan Byrne and Centa Schumacher's summer residency at the Art Ark Gallery, where the artists had 6 weeks to access the gallery to install a large scale multi-sensory exhibition. The show's title refers to the central epiphany of the Eleusinian Mysteries, an ancient Greek religious rite. Initiates of the Mysteries would pass through several trials based on the story of Persephone and Demeter in order to earn access to a monumental revelation that altered the seeker forever. This event was so sacred in Greek culture that initiates swore to keep it a secret, and to this day historians are unclear on what knowledge was actually revealed.

Consisting entirely of new work created during the residency, Byrne and Schumacher drew from sources that range from Homeric hymns to the film The Neverending Story to create a sense of mystery and discovery within the space. Large soft sculptures loom Sphynx-like over the space. At the gallery’s center, a circular chamber holds a glowing artifact that fills the gallery with an otherworldly light that is mirrored by a print illuminated by the setting sun. After the expansion of the light of the central space, a small watery chamber creates a space for recentering. These pieces come together to create a multi-sensory experience that invites personal revelation and outward exploration.

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