Mahan Gallery is pleased to present Nature Noir, an exhibition of works by artists Bethany Davis, Lacey Hedtke and Jen Mann. This exhibition is an exploration of nature, spiritualism, sorcery, noir and the embracement of the fruition of creating art.

Bethany Davis’ paintings and drawings are made with the consideration of both a design and fine arts perspective. Driven by formalism, the exploration of layers, and the building of surfaces, Bethany’s work becomes a study of the process of transforming the work into a finished piece. The end result focuses on the construction and highlighting of layering which creates an abstracted passage that obscures a sense of space. Davis, who received her BFA from The Cleveland Institute of Art has exhibited her work nationally and currently works as a retail environmental designer in Columbus, OH. 

Lacey Hedtke’s tintype photographs are inspired by divination rituals, spiritual beliefs and the hope that clues to the future can originate from nature. Her work relies on chance, as there is no negative. Each image is created on metal, a psychically conductive material. From tea leaves to icicles, Hedtke observes her subject matter in the exploration of finding energy in objects and nature. She received her BFA in Photography from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and currently lives and works in Minneapolis Minnesota, where she teaches Alternative Processes at the Minneapolis Photo Center. 

Jen Mann’s paintings investigate the role of women and how they embrace the abandonment of homogenized domestication. Demonstrated through a lush hybrid of women and wild animals, her paintings from the series Fera- the latin word for feral- communicate the need for humans to step out of themselves and become paralleled with their animal and spiritual instincts. Mann received her BFA in Printmaking from the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured on numerous online publications. Jen is the Art Director for Konekt magazine and the founder of Moist Beaver magazine. She currently lives and works in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Curator(s)
Jacquie Mahan