Vital Spaces Midtown Annex
1600 Saint Michael’s Drive - SW Annex, Midtown Campus Santa Fe, NM 87505

Open Studio/Gallery hours Friday and Saturday 1-5pm July 16th - 31st 1-5pm or by appointment email: phasechange2021@gmail.com
Reception: Friday July 30th 4-6pm 

Throughout June and July 2021 Amanda Lechner has been working on a new body of experimental buon fresco (paintings made by brushing liquid pigment into wet lime plaster) in a studio on the Santa Fe “mid-town campus” though the Vital Spaces Organization. Over this span Lechner is hosting several visiting artists from New Mexico and across the U.S. The resulting fresco works on repurposed styrofoam, tile, fabric and stone are part of an evolving exhibition installed in the studio/exhibition space. Phase Change doubles as a solo show of Lechner’s work and as a group/collaborative exhibition. This project is a catalyst for creative connection after a year of collective isolation. It is also an experiment in creating educational space as site for conversation and collaboration.

The title Phase Change refers to the term used to describe transitions between states of matter. The chemical reaction that merges the pigment and lime into a crystalline surface is an example of a phase change. Phase change can also be the transition between harmony and discord and is a narrative concept utilized in speculative fiction. This project was conceived before the pandemic and in the intervening year the word phase has been common parlance in relation to the virus, closure, drug trials and re-opening. The idea of the phase change seems especially relevant in this moment as we together face, yet another, uncertain future.

Guests:
Beverly Acha
Meaghan Dee
Molly Evans
Ash Ferlito
Jen P. Harris
E.E. Ikeler
Alyse Ronayne
Andrew Thompson
…and others!

Amanda Lechner is a visual artist living/working in Santa Fe, NM and Blacksburg, VA. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States. Lechner studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute and Rhode Island School of Design and has been an artist in residence at Skowhegan, Penland, Wassaic Project, and Stove Works. Lechner is an Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Virginia Tech.