ON VIEW
April 22 – 29
+ May 12 – 20

EXHIBITION OPENINGS
Friday, April 21, 5 – 7 pm
+ Thursday, May 11, 5 – 7 pm

@deannajacome
www.deannajacome.com

Deanna Jacome


Deanna Jacome is an interdisciplinary painter investigating the embodiment of interconnectedness rooted in connection and gratitude to place. Jacome works with sustainably sourced materials that are found, gifted, or foraged within her environment and makes her own paints, inks, and dyes from quarry stones, freshly picked wildflowers, and kitchen remnants. Living with chronic pain and illness has provided Jacome with a sensitivity to the world and a recognition of its interconnectedness, the depth of its suffering, and gratitude for moments of slowness. Following her graduation in May of 2023 she looks forward to becoming Continuing Studies faculty at MECA&D and finishing the building of her tiny house on wheels with her fiancé.


Contemplative Presence Made Material: It is an illusion of humanity’s own invention that there exists a duality, a separation between oneself and nature. This illusion of separation has allowed the landscape to endure destructive and abusive extraction of its resources at a pace which has led to a global environmental crisis. Contemplative Presence Made Material argues that it is through the act of contemplative presence driven by empathic curiosity, reverential engagement with materials, and the noticing and valuing of small moments that the illusion of this separation fades away and is replaced with the clarity of interconnectedness. This series of interdisciplinary paintings intertwine paint and textiles with mindful engagement of material resources, predominantly forged pigments (ochres) and dyes, from compost and wildflowers, as well as resources from throughout her community. This work provides the audience with the space to slow down and appreciate what often goes unnoticed in fast-paced contemporary life through depicting everyday encounters. Amidst an ever-present global ecological crisis, this work is a gentle invitation for quiet and contemplative activism, inviting viewers to take a moment to be present in their direct environment and listen to what this earthen connection reveals. It is an invitation to slow down the pace of life and envision a future that is centered on gratitude for what the land and its resources can teach us, revealing the innate understanding of connection within all.


 

The MFA Thesis Exhibitions for the Class of 2023 are interdisciplinary shows that incorporate a range of making practices unified by the overwhelming concerns these students have for their environment, their communities, their families, and their own well-being. With an emphasis on the personal, and at times the anecdotal, these 21 artists make a variety of contributions in the form of ceramics, garments, furniture, installations, paintings, photographs, poems, prints, sculptures, and videos. The nature of their work and research demonstrates the caliber and cultural relevance of our program.











Institute of Contemporary Art
at Maine College of Art & Design
522 Congress St.Portland, ME 04101

Gallery Hours:
Wed–Sun, 11:00am–5:00pm,
Thursday, 11:00am–7:00pm