"Backscatter"

Backscatter brings together artworks that serve as transmissions of largely ineffable, perhaps transcendental, experiences that occur during moments of stillness, observation, and introspection. They embody the effects of not just noticing, but reveling in, fleeting glimmers of light that have traveled from inconceivably distant realms to flicker at the threshold of our consciousness; and of listening attentively to the ancestral murmurs and revelations that may awaken within us while we are quietly captivated by the dazzle.

The works in Backscatter lead us to contemplate larger themes of mortality, equilibrium, and the blurred edges of the “self” by interweaving spectacular processes of natural and chemical changes of forms in with speculative images of fluidity and other-worldliness.

Throughout the exhibition, themes of fragmentation, disintegration, patina, and crystallization recur. Ephemeral site-specific installations, by Joetta Maue and Katherine Mitchell DiRico, document and harness visual light phenomena as methods to explore time and perception. Funlola Coker, Jesse Kaminsky, Leah Piepgras, and Esther Solondz create sculptures that engage in various transmutations: of culture, memory, materials, and the human body. Joetta Maue’s drawings remind us of the humble and precarious nature of our daily existence. She meticulously renders images of cosmic dust, and floor sweepings, alternately, with ink on black paper.

Each piece in the show emerges from a practice steeped in time, presence, and a curiosity about unnoticed or transitory occurrences. 

BACKSCATTER

August 14-September 13, 2025
OVERLAP 
112 Van Zandt
Newport, RI, 02840
United States

Upcoming:
August 14: Backscatter opens
August 16, 4-6pm: Backscatter Opening Celebration
August 22, 6pm: Artist talk with Jesse Kaminsky and Funlola Coker
September 14, 11 am: Artist talk with Katherine Mitchell DiRico, Joetta Maue, Leah Piepgras and Esther Solondz
September 14: Backscatter closes