John Davis Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of Renee Iacone.

“For thousands of years, cultures around the world have constructed piles of stones, which we call cairns, for various purposes. For example, in the Bronze Age they were monuments at burial sites. In South Korea, they marked roads and landmarks. In pre-Columbian times in Latin America cairns were used on trails and as shrines. The Buddhists include them in religious ceremonies. The Jews place stones on a grave as a token of respect. In Scandinavia, cairns are called kummel, and are used as navigational aids. In our country they are useful path markers for hikers. I’ve also seen them on fence posts, in farm fields and on city windowsills. What inspired this body of work is that these stacks of stones are infused with the presence of the creator and as a cairn is often recognizable as a human figure. In fact, the German word for cairn is steinmann – literally “stone man”. The Inuit word for cairn is inunguak – “imitation of a person”. The Italian word ometto means “small man”. This process of transformation of stones into that which has “life” is magical. The hand of the maker is obvious and speaks to us even thousands of years later. It transcends its purpose to become a signature and a mirror. Hand crafted objects embody the spirit of the creator. The object has been infused with what the Chinese call chi – a universal energy that inhabits the form. And so artifacts of culture – tools, toys, amulets are extensions of ourselves and reflect the monumental energy of the human spirit and create a parallel and concrete world which lives on beyond the creator and finally says I was here!” - Renee Iacone, 2013

John Davis Gallery
362 1/2 Warren Street
Hudson (NY) 12534 United States
Tel. +1 (518) 8285907
art@johndavisgallery.com
www.johndavisgallery.com

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