Ocean Bodies, A Solo Exhibit by Kimberly Callas
Location: Ice House Gallery, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Ave # 600, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Opening Reception: February 6, 2025, 5:30–7:30 PM
Exhibition Dates: February 6, 2025 – March 23, 2025
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm
The exhibition will open on February 6, 2025, with an evening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and will run through April 4, 2025. Ocean Bodies offers an immersive exploration of humanity’s interconnectedness with the ocean, drawing on symbols, archetypes, and ecological narratives to invite contemplation and action.
Through sculptures, large-scale drawings, and mixed-media works, Callas examines the “crisis of meaning” at the heart of the climate crisis and advocates for a shift in consciousness toward an “ecological self.” This concept, central to her work, reflects humanity’s integral role within nature rather than apart from it. In Ocean Bodies, she uses water-based materials, such as dyed fabrics, India ink, and water-soluble graphite, to invoke the sea’s physical presence while exploring the symbolic depth of whales, the horizon, and the ocean itself as metaphors for the psyche and cosmos.
Among the featured works is a series of 10-foot mixed-media drawings inspired by historical nautical charts, which pair psychological journeys with the migration of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Complementing these works are colorful life-size figurative sculptures and reliefs, 3D-printed using bio-filament, that further explore themes of renewal and interconnection. Through these works, Callas poses urgent questions about the loss of meaning, wisdom, and biodiversity in the Anthropocene.
Callas created much of the work in Ocean Bodies during an artist residency with Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute, with additional research conducted at the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) and an artist residency at the Arts Quarter Budapest. This body of work seeks to merge art, science, and archetypal symbols to foster a deeper understanding of humanity’s place within the natural world and inspire meaningful environmental action
Callas’s recent exhibitions include the International New Media Exhibit at the CICA Museum in South Korea, Crossing Boundaries: Art and the Future of Energy at the Pensacola Museum of Art, and Ocean Swimmers (Entanglement), a solo exhibition in Budapest. In May 2025, she will unveil a public art commission for the Lambert Castle Renovation in Paterson, New Jersey.
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2784332-0
