The Chazan Gallery at Wheeler is presenting ‘Tangles and Snarls’ featuring new work by artists Kim Salerno and Jane Hesser from January 16 to February 5, 2009. There will be a reception for the artists on January 16, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited.

Jane Hesser’s black and white photographs were recently reviewed as bold—a catalyst to experiencing a “pleasing fluidity of movement, a seductive ambiguity of essence.” In her work, Hesser explores the intricate networks, systems and relationships in the natural world, focusing closely on the delicate tangles and networks of organic materials such as hair, roots and the structure of a bird nest. Through this subject matter, she finds minute distinctions between interconnectedness and entanglement, interdependence and dependence. Her photographs capture the complexity, vulnerability and strength of these relationships. Currently a faculty member in the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Foundation Studies, Hesser received her BFA from SUNY at Buffalo and her MFA in Photography from RISD. She has exhibited in a number of solo and group exhibitions including the RISD Museum and the Proposition in New York City. Hesser’s work was recently highlighted in the New England arts periodical ArtScope for a three-person show entitled Entangled at the Trustman Art Gallery at Simmons College in Boston. For more information on the artist please visit: http://hesserstudios.com

Kim Salerno merges the fine arts with the decorative arts and architectural design through a profusion of pattern, sculpture, drawing and installations. Her current work draws inspiration from a variety of sources including the same repetition and patterning of plant materials and animal body organization that William Morris drew his decorative imagery and patterning from as well as the patterns of Persian Classical and French Aubusson carpets. Salerno’s new body of work builds on the geometry and visual patterning of marine animals and organisms. She has used the visual pattern invention of animals such as cephalopods and cnidarians to build on principles from other disciplines to create forms governed simultaneously by plan and chance. With her new work, she strives to create living breathing patterns. Salerno earned a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, holds a certificate in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA from Smith College. She has exhibited widely throughout the United States including a recent installation at Stonehill College in Easton, MA in a show entitled “Big Miniature,” made possible through a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant award. Salerno has recently been awarded a grant from the University of Rhode Island Sea Grant and was also a recipient of the Merit Fellowship from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. She has taught art and design at colleges and universities throughout the country including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She now teaches at the University of Rhode Island. For more information on the artist please visit: www.kimsalerno.com