“Atopos Adaptation” is a multimedia exhibition featuring six InLiquid Artist Members exploring life and form, and investigating the beauty, diversity, and uniqueness of organisms with whom we coexist. Using ecology as a point of inspiration, the artists in this exhibition blur the lines between the natural and artificial, and art and science. Searching for these connectors, a sentience reveals itself – the innate need to exist and grow, persisting in every symbiotic relationship, and bringing life to a once lifeless form. 

The work in this exhibition plays with themes of biomorphism, the design principle of forms reminiscent of living organisms. While not explicitly depicting an existing ecological element, each work displays signs of life through color, shape, and gestural movements. With a strong scientific background, interest, and curiosity, these artists have discovered that through their creative processes, they were unknowingly creating patterns found and extensively researched in math and science. In the dichotomy of intuitively creating life and discovering it through facts and research, we find evidence that we are more connected to the world than we realize. 

In Atopos Adaptation, pieces are displayed in a non-traditional and perhaps unexpected style. Rather than sculptures placed on pedestals, they are suspended from the ceiling and arranged in complementary disarray surrounding the 2-dimensional works. The viewer is encouraged to explore the relationships between the pieces just as much as observing the works as individual objects. Through this exploration, we aim to create symbiotic relationships between the work and the walls, referencing those found in nature. Therefore, the art is re-contextualized in our white-cube space as forms growing in the room as opposed to work placed on display. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Patti Dougherty
Patti Dougherty (she/her) is a painter and glass artist living and working in an 1860s farmhouse in Elkins Park, PA. She received her BFA in Glass from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA, and later her MFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD. After graduating, she immersed herself in travels to South America, Italy, Greece, Egypt, and England to study the history of glass, ancient civilizations, and the natural world. She has received awards for her Jewelry and Glass and has been featured in several publications in both areas. Patti has participated in exhibitions nationally and internationally, notably at the National Liberty Museum (Philadelphia, PA), Denton Museum (Denton, TX), Ebeltoft Glasmuseum (Denmark), and a Contemporary Jewelry exhibition at the Renwick Museum (Washington, D.C.). Her glasswork and paintings are driven by her passion for the natural world, and are often inspired by marine life, which she observes through her volunteer work as a reef surveyor for Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire.

Marguerita Hagan
Marguerita Hagan (she/her) is a ceramic sculptor based in Philadelphia and an activist for the thriving of all life in mutually sustainable communities and environments. The concept of interdependence plays throughout her sculpture, teaching and community arts. Throughout her career, Hagan has brought to light the beauty and engineering of our planet’s diverse ecosystems and our powerful role as stewards. The intricate ceramic shines light on the wonder and respect for the fragile, diverse life with which our lives are intrinsically linked. Hagan’s practice is an ongoing discovery, magnifying our awareness, reciprocal responsibility and protection of each other and our planet. She received her MFA is from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and her BFA in Ceramics at James Madison University. Her projects include collaborations with artists, scientists and community, environmental art- science residencies, lectures. Her work is in collections and exhibits nationally and internationally.

Thomas Murray
Thomas Murray (he/him) is a painter currently living and working in New Jersey with his wife, partner, and fellow artist Donna Mason Sweigart. They relocated from the US/ Mexico border of South Texas. Thomas earned his MFA at the University of New Mexico in 2003. Residencies include Artestudio Ginestrella in Assisi, Italy and was recently invited to return to Arquetopia in Puebla, Mexico, for an honorary artists residency.  He received his Masters degree in Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, and his BS in Fine Art and Art Education from the University of South Florida in Hillsborough County, FL. Thomas has expansive exhibition history, with a majority taking place in Texas and Florida. His work has been acquired by both public and private collections, notably in Holland, Florida, and Italy. He has been a lecturer and instructor for the past 14 years, and currently teaches at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.

Michelle Rothwell
Michelle Rothwell is a practicing Fine Artist whose work has been shown nationally and internationally in solo, juried, and group shows. Michelle’s Virtual Sculptures and Environments, Collages, and Drawings juxtapose organic and inorganic surfaces to engage our innate sensory awareness of our surroundings. Rothwell has a BA in Studio Art and a Master of Industrial Design, MID.  Michelle is an Associate Professor of Digital Media and Design with over 20 years of teaching experience. During her career in academia, she created multiple degree programs for several colleges and universities, designed dozens of courses, and mentored hundreds of students and peers. She is the founder of the Game Art BFA program formally at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Teresa Shields
Teresa Shields received her MFA in painting from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, MA, and her BFA in Fiber from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. She has always been drawn to fabric, thread, wool fiber, magnets and wood. Through embroidery she interprets abstract shapes found in the natural forms of sliced fruits and vegetables. In 2016 she began wet felting and now enjoys exploring the materiality of turning wool fibers into solid but soft hollow forms. Her work is often idiosyncratic and leave the viewer craving a tactile experience. Teresa exhibits her work throughout the United States and locally at Graver's Lane Gallery in Chestnut Hill, and in private collections around the country. She has exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions and has received numerous awards and honors throughout her artistic career. She is an empty nester living and working in Jenkintown, just outside Philadelphia, with her husband and two cats.

Rachel Blythe Udell
Rachel Blythe Udell works with fibrous materials to create biomorphic sculptures, embroidered textile collages, and installations. She is the recipient of a 2023 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for sculpture, and has had solo shows at The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington, DE, The Philadelphia International Airport, and Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.  Her work has been juried into Art14C, an international art fair, and the 2018 New Jersey Arts Annual. Udell graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in Art History, and has studied art and art therapy at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives and works in Mantua, NJ.