Sybil Archibald & Maria Mineo at Arts Unbound

Opening Reception: Friday, June 12 from 5-8pm Arts Unbound is pleased to announce a two-person exhibition of paintings, monoprints and sculpture by Sybil Archibald of South Orange and intaglio prints from the series “Mind Over Matter” by Maria Mineo of Branchburg. The exhibit opens on June 6, with a reception for the public on Friday, June 12 from 5-8pm at the Arts Unbound gallery in the Valley Arts District at 544 Freeman Street, Orange. Archibald and Mineo both experienced the onset of a debilitating disease in adulthood; scleroderma and multiple sclerosis respectively. In this exhibition, each artist presents a body of work that conveys the complexity of their individual physical and psychological experiences with illness. The parallels in their life and art work also include a deep interest and overlay of personal spiritualism. For Archibald this comes from her academic study of medieval illumination and ancient mystics including Plotinus, Meister Eckhart, & Hildegard of Bingen. For Mineo it is her yoga practice coupled with her Buddhist studies that inform her approach to printmaking and her artistic practice. Sybil Archibald is a self-taught artist and scholar of medieval art techniques. She studied at The School of the Sacred Arts in New York City and received a BA in Medieval Spirituality from New York University Gallatin Division. She is the co-founder of the Gabriel Guild, and co-wrote the forth-coming book Lapis & Gold: Unlocking the Secrets of Medieval Painters and Illuminators. Archibald’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in private collections throughout the United States and Europe. “All the works being displayed at Arts Unbound are an exploration of self. Living with long term illness has caused the death of one self, a self I knew intimately. Who have I become? How do I look? What is important to me? These are questions I don’t know the answers to anymore,” says Archibald. Maria Mineo lives and works in New Jersey. This is Mineo’s first exhibiton of her “Mind Over Matter” series as well as her first exhibition with Arts Unbound. Mineo explains how she came to printmaking. “I chose to take a workshop at the Printmaking Center of New Jersey facing a plate full of uncertainty—a brand new medium and a creative block that had lasted many years. Although a graphic designer, I had not produced my own art for a very long time. At this point, art had become something buried under the mire of living with a devastating and unpredictable degenerative disease: Multiple Sclerosis. This time pain and fatigue didn’t stand in the way—instead, it became the inspiration for my work. Instead of pushing away the chronic disease I embraced it as a vehicle to visually express my unique experience. I found out that I could transform my experience—something so personal—into a universal message. I use photographs, scanned images and my actual MRI’s to create photo etchings. I visually examine how the brain is a physical, tangible organ that is the home of the mind—a powerful intangible limitless entity. In the series “Mind Over Matter” I question the many ways life can alter the mind—and how the mind has the ability to transcend limits to find a deeper, darker and even richer place to create.” Arts Unbound is dedicated to the artistic achievement of people living with disabilities and ongoing art enrichment for seniors. They provide visual arts education and professional development to help emerging artists compete in the retail market. By promoting the work of artists with disabilities and seniors, they focus on their art-making rather than any impairments, and by doing so challenge the stigma associated with disability and aging. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm, and Saturdays noon-5pm. www.artsunbound.org, 973-675-2787