The Harvard Square Business Association, in collaboration with Intercontinental Management, introduces ‘Tracing the Familiar’—the newest exhibition at the 25/8 artspace project, located at 2 Linden Street in Harvard Square.
This group show, guest-curated by Clarajames Daly, features an array of paintings and sculptures exploring themes of memory, domesticity, and the emotional connections to home, directly stemming from the experiences of leaving home.
Open to the public until June 15th, Tracing the Familiar presents works by artists Miguel Caba, An Há, Michael Ilisoi, Vivian Tran, and Andrija Zekovic.
Denise Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, expressed gratitude toward Intercontinental Management for their ongoing support of the arts. She noted, “This popup gallery exhibits beautiful artwork that is to be enjoyed ‘from the street’ in an unexpected location in Harvard Square.”
The exhibition delves into the complexities of belonging and distance, with an emphasis on the interplay between physical separation and the emotional proximity one can feel towards home. Through this exploration, the artworks highlight memory and fleeting experiences, established in a collaborative community environment.
Originally centered around Michael Ilisoi’s work, the exhibition grew into a group project as different artists from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University engaged with one another. This interconnectedness has allowed the exhibition to develop organically, driven by artists recommending each other and fostering a supportive community.
Curator Clarajames Daly notes that this process of collective organizing is a significant response to the realities of migration, emphasizing the capacity to craft a community irrespective of physical location.
Within the gallery, the essence of memory is captured through varied artistic expressions. Both Há and Ilisoi’s works, crafted from house dust or oil, present portraits that strike a balance between figurative representation and abstraction.
Their use of positive and negative space, alongside intentional blank areas, reflects the transient nature of memory—fluid and ever-changing, existing within gaps where the new and familiar intertwine.
The theme of domesticity is cleverly reinterpreted across the exhibition through the works of Caba, Há, Tran, and Zekovic, provoking a unique blend of strangeness and familiarity.
In a particularly striking arrangement, shirts encase found drawers, couch patterns are imprinted onto wall-mounted structures, and lights are filtered through Styrofoam packing materials. These artistic choices challenge conventional material use and their associations, underscoring the robustness of memory.
Each contributing artist carries their own diverse experiences as they traverse different spaces, enriching the ongoing dialogue about what constitutes home and familiarity.
In line with the exhibition’s theme, Daly also reflects on the challenge of staying connected through digital means. To foster physical connections, a letter-writing event is scheduled for May 30, inviting participants to engage in the act of writing letters to acknowledge their support systems.
Through Tracing the Familiar, the artspace endeavors not only to present beautiful works of art but also to encourage deeper connections among those who traverse personal journeys of belonging and nostalgia.
image source from：https://www.harvardsquare.com/tracing-the-familiar-25-8-artspace-project/
