ReCreate Appalachia presents an incredible Recovery Month exhibition featuring mixed media works by Kevin Allison.
“For the Hope of It All” opens in the Turret Gallery of West Edge Factory during our September First Saturday Art Market. Come check out the exhibition, then enjoy the food, music, and art vendors at the market!
Kevin will be on site from 2-4 pm for a meet and greet!
Artist Statement by Kevin Allison:
I was born and raised in the Chemical Valley of West Virginia. My father was manufacturing Agent Orange at the Monsanto plant in Nitro when I came along, and I attended a high school with walls that sealed airtight in case of a chemical leak. Nitro and the surrounding areas are known as the “Chemical Valley” for its massive production of explosives, chemicals, and propellants. This was my childhood playground. It may be that my views on nature and life in general are vaguely skewed by this environmentally exciting upbringing. At the very least, I still have a continuing love affair with the color orange.
I’m a lifelong West Virginia resident, and a Marshall University School of Fine Arts graduate, with a focus in studio painting. In my brand of storytelling, I combine multiple techniques to explore our culture. I use unconventional materials such as encaustic paint, cold wax and found objects in my collages. In the fashion of our forebears (and other fauna), I cobble together a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. Sometimes a lot more of that.
My assemblages explore the complexities of our Appalachian lives, one layer at a time. I like to think I’m creating unique monuments to life in our wild and wonderful state.
I’ve always had a sensibility for seeing beauty in decay. I’m surrounded by hollers, relics, and ghost towns. There’s discarded treasures all over the hard ground. I choose to utilize those discarded bits because I feel there’s a spirituality and a constant truth present in the things we choose to leave behind. I have found great inspiration in forgotten spaces.
During my years of homelessness and active addiction, I kept a journal and sketchbook. In 2023, my recovery began, and I utilized those items as inspiration for a new series of work.
“For the Hope of it All” is a visual representation of my journey through homelessness and addiction.