Contemplating what the future might hold, Nancy Harrod asks questions of her viewer and herself: What’s at the threshold of the unknown, what are we leaving behind, and how does one live a life that accommodates the appreciation of beauty while we are facing very present threats? Questioning culture and place is the motivation for Claudia Ruiz Gustafson who focuses on themes of imperialist/supremacist thinking and its construction of histories as Influenced by her cross-cultural experience and Peruvian heritage.

With a multitude of textiles, Sam Fields is able to explore social constructs associated with the decorative arts, gender, class, professional versus hobbyist, and the hierarchical categories of taste and morality, in a similar vein, using altered textiles, Merill Comeau investigates socio-political issues, definitions of value, and histories of women’s labor with modern interpretations of traditional craft techniques. Handcraft often resonates with collage artists, as for Chilean artist Oscar Lazo who was surrounded by seamstresses in childhood, drawn to needlecraft, and was denied access due to cultural gender norms prompting the unique quilting technique in his family woodshop with fabric scraps and a the more accepted tools of a hammer and nails.

Bridging the broad definitions of collage, Wendy Seller seamlessly blends traditional painting techniques with digital image-building, inventing hybridized worlds populated by magical figures and surreal landscapes featuring political commentary, family history, and resistance to the oligarchy in the past and present. Through the myriads of methods, styles, and integrated elements, the Pieced artists present their broad definition of what collage is and can be. Using shears and tape, pixels and thread, residue and stain, this exhibition is part and parcel of the vibrant, and sometimes disruptive, language of collage. To comprehensively describe collage is to begin a lifelong discourse on technique and metaphor, and the artists included in Pieced have done just that.

The Gallery at Atlantic Wharf is programmed by the Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC) and features local and regional artists in thematic group exhibitions. Organized by guest curators, shows are generously funded by Boston Properties/Atlantic Wharf. FPAC, a non-profit founded in 1980, cultivates and promotes a diverse community of creatives from Fort Point and beyond. FPAC enhances the cultural life of Boston by providing programming which includes exhibitions, art lending, open studios, and free or affordable performances and other events. FPAC is a leading contributor to the Seaport District and Fort Point as a cultural hub of Boston.