New City Arts presents Friction: an exploration of impediments to interdependence, an exhibition of work by Lily Erb.
Image courtesy of the artist
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Fridays
August 5, 5-7:30PM; Performance from 6-6:30PM
Free and open to the public. All ages welcome.
Gallery Hours
Wednesday-Friday from 10AM-5PM
Private visits for families and student groups (camps, preschools, art classes, etc.) can be arranged. Email us to make an appointment.
Exhibition Events
Community Printmaking Day: Aug 26 at 5:00PM
Listen to the Exhibition Playlist 🎧
Covid-19 Visitor Policy
Masks are required at all times for all visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Please do not come to Welcome Gallery if you have been exposed to COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, or have been advised to isolate or quarantine.
Sponsors
This exhibition is presented by The FUNd at CACF.
Exhibition Statement
With her exhibition of vibrant large-scale soft sculpture and carpeted, furry surfaces, Lily Erb creates a playful interactive space for exploration and imagination. The experience is undeniably delightful—intentionally so. Lily’s sculptures hearken back to beloved Sesame Street characters—those strange, lovable creatures who have helped generations of children navigate the complexities of the world they inhabit.
In a time when the reality and necessity of our interdependence is acutely apparent, Lily asks us to examine personal and interpersonal conflicts that impede ability to build the kind of community that will enable us to survive. She asks the questions in a surreal environment, inviting visitors to interact with creature-like sculptures in a dreamlike space—making it a soft place to land.
About the Artist (courtesy of the artist)
Lily Erb is a queer maker from Charlottesville, Virginia. Lily received her BFA from Hampshire College in Sculpture and Printmaking in 2013 and her MFA from Ohio University in Sculpture + Extended Practice Lily spent the first eight years of her creative career working almost exclusively with steel after signing up for a welding class in college and falling in love with welding. She has been focusing on creating soft sculpture after a discovered love of sewing while in residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in the fall of 2018. Performance became a part of her practice while in graduate school. Other residencies Lily attended are Yellow Bird Art Park, Wabi Sabi Thrift Store, and Paducah A.I.R. Public art pieces include decorative panels for The Paramount, Vita Nova, Tastings, and Splendora's as well as Extended Chaos in Paducah, KY and Clothing Rack Bike Rack in Moab, UT.
