December 14, 2024–February 8, 2025

Darkness

Darkness, the third installment of Bill Arning Exhibitions' annual winter series, invites viewers to explore the complexities of the dark through a range of works by artists Franco Andrés, Daniella Dooling, Steven Evans, John Franklin, Kevin Tobin, and Brian Wood. The exhibition, curated in response to the stillness and isolation of the Hudson Valley's cold months, uses shadows and dark imagery to reveal hidden narratives. Dooling's black bird’s nests symbolize the environmental impact of wildfires, while Evans’ black-on-black drawings evoke queer histories. Franklin's works, created over a span of 27 years, explore darkness as a means of energetic abstraction. Andrés, Tobin, and Wood further delve into the surreal, with dark surfaces revealing nightmarish, dreamlike visions. The show plays on the contradictory nature of darkness—both safe and dangerous, sensual and sinister—inviting visitors to engage with the unseen and adjust to the subtle light of winter.