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Peeler gallery presents Mark Rospenda’s Filter Feeder exhibit
The Richard E. Peeler Art Center is encouraging art lovers to “prepare to embark on an extraordinary artistic journey” as it presents Filter Feeder, an immersive exhibition featuring the work of artist Mark Rospenda.
Showcasing drawings and sculptures made of paper pulp — all created specifically for DePauw University — the exhibition will be on view from Aug. 28 to Dec. 8 at the Peeler Art Center’s University Gallery on the upper level.
Filter Feeder offers art enthusiasts a diverse range of artworks. Visitors can step inside an impressive 28.5-foot-long structure crafted from paper pulp 2x4s. Adding to the spectacle is a 10x40 foot drawing of a hurricane, brought to life through hand-cut inlaid paper, graphite and tape.
These pieces represent the core of Rospenda’s concept for the exhibition as a reflection of the human experience of images.
The exhibition derives its title from the artist’s observation of the parallel between filter feeder organisms and our own lived experiences.
“We as humans do not ask to be immersed in images, and yet they are constantly washing through and over us,” Ropsenda said. “And those images, in turn, become a part of what we understand and believe.
“However, it seems that with increasing frequency we see things that exist outside of the structural framework we have constructed to understand our experiences,” he continued. “Whether publicly shared or in private, these are the moments that make us tell others that what we saw ‘felt like a movie.’ Disassociated from what feels real, these outliers make us reevaluate our understanding of a sane and rational world — coming through like a hurricane, tearing down the structures of understanding that we’ve built to make sense of the senseless.”
Filter Feeder serves as a self-portrait of the artist. Through a poetic representation of knowledge and belief, Rospenda questions the resilience of our own understanding when faced with moments that have the potential to shake us to our core.
His practice has been shaped by his meticulous nature and passion for exploring the intricate nature of human thought. His creative process involves physically cutting into, shredding and converting his drawings into pulp, resulting in a tangible representation of memories lost, found and transforming.
Rospenda’s work has been exhibited at the Spartanburg Art Museum, DEMO Project, Herron Galleries and many other locations nationally. As the winner of the Director’s Choice Award in the 2016 Art From the Heartland exhibition, he was granted a solo exhibition at the Indianapolis Art Center in 2019.
His artwork is currently included in the White Columns Curated Artist Registry, and he organized and oversaw more than 125 exhibitions while curator at the South Bend Museum of Art from 2011-22. Rospenda lives and works in South Bend, where he is adjunct faculty in fine arts at Indiana University - South Bend.
The public is welcome to the Peelery Center on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. for a special public gallery talk in which Rospenda will share insights into the inspiration behind his art and the creative process that brings his visions to life.
For more information and to explore Rospenda’s portfolio, visit markrospenda.com.
The galleries at the Richard E. Peeler Art Center are open Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday 1-5 p.m. The galleries are closed during university breaks and holidays. The exhibition is free.