(Visual Art/Mixed Media)
Location: Artspace, Upfront Gallery 
 
Recreation is an exhibit that pays homage to the sweaty world of organized adult recreational sports.  Artists Sarah Powers and Rachel Herrick collaborated on work that explores the idiosyncrasies of play and competition and the general absurdity of grown-ups playing sports.  They tapped into the hyper-graphic style and color combinations associated with professional sports to create their works, repurposing the actual equipment in some of their pieces.  The ridiculous rule-oriented nature of sports construction is illustrated through repetitive, linear imagery.

Conceptually, Powers and Herrick were interested in the contrast between the relaxed, improvised sports of their childhoods and the increasingly competitive, over-accessorized sports that came with growing up.  They realized that while the intent of recreational sports remains largely the same (exercise, friends, fun), the delivery and protocol have changed drastically.  As kids they had sweatpants, ratty sneakers, and hand-me-down gloves; as adults they find themselves awash in sweat-wicking shirts, therapeutic braces, $300 rackets, and innumerable liniments for aches and pains.  Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, sports became about having the right gear with a coordinating outfit.

Rachel Herrick is an artist based in Fuquay-Varina, NC, whose mixed media work focuses on cultural landscapes and communication.  Her work has been exhibited across the U.S. at venues including The Collectors Gallery in Raleigh, Vision Gallery in Atlantic Beach, The William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, and recently in the Fayetteville Museum of Art.  Originally from Maine, Herrick has a B.A. in Writing from Methodist University.  She has worked at Visual Art Exchange since 2006, first at their Exhibitions Director and currently as Programs Director.

Sarah Powers is an artists based in Raleigh, NC, whose mixed media work focuses on industrial and rural landscapes and landscape details.  Her work has been featured in galleries across the U.S. including Rhode Island’s risd I works, The Sarah Doyle Gallery at Brown University, and in NC at The Collectors Gallery, and Vision Gallery.  She was awarded a United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County Regional Project Grant  and was selected as one of 12 artists working on The Bain Project, a multi-media installation scheduled for May 2009.  Powers is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design.

About Artspace
Artspace, a thriving visual art center located in downtown Raleigh, brings the creative process to life through inspiring and engaging education and community outreach programming, a dynamic environment of over 30 professional artists studios, and nationally acclaimed exhibitions. Approximately 95 artists hold professional memberships in the Artspace Artists Association. Thirty-five of these artists have studios located at Artspace. Artspace is open to the public Tues.-Sat., from 10 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and on the first Friday of each month for the First Friday Gallery Walk until 10:00 p.m. Admission is free; donations appreciated. Guided tours are available. Artspace is located in Historic City Market in Raleigh at the corner of Blount and Davie Streets.
 
Artspace is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, the Raleigh Arts Commission, individuals, corporations, and private foundations.
 
For more information, please visit www.artspacenc.org Cost: Free