Beaumont Art League hosts Silvernail’s assemblages exhibition
Jane Silvernail is an addict.
You won’t find her out on the streets begging for drugs, but she will happily take your quirky castoff objects to use in her art.
“I get inspired by all pieces that I have to put in my art and that’s just what I do,” she said. “I just can’t stand it. It’s like a disease. I have to do it.”
Silvernail earned Best in Show at the Beaumont Art League’s 2023 membership show and her reward was a solo exhibition, on display now through July 3. A free reception is set for 7-9 p.m., May 18.
BAL’s gallery walls are packed with 80 assemblages, most completed within the past 18 months. Silvernail works every day surrounded by a collection of objects — relics and remnants.
“I love the old stuff, the broken stuff, and I try to give it new life,” she said.
Silvernail finds things at flea markets or on the streets, and said her friends are always bringing her objects they think she can use.
“I have a friend who does metal detecting and when he found out that I did this he brought me boxes of remnants of things, metal stuff that he found, and there’s history in that stuff,” she said. “And I like to bring it back.”
The Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi centers on appreciating the broken and imperfect, and appreciating the lifecycle of everything.
“So, I try to use that and also nostalgia,” Silvernail said. “I have very strong nostalgic personality. My basic (philosophy) when I started was I need to use metal, glass and wood. So, I’ve tried to use all those elements in practically every piece.”
The sheer volume of objects in each assemblage is almost overwhelming. One cannot help but marvel at the amount of work involved. But Silvernail doesn’t see it as work.
“I just do it because it’s fun,” she said. “And I have a tremendous amount of resources. People give me stuff to support my habit. I just pick out an object that I really like and sometimes it comes to me where it needs to be — sometimes it doesn’t. The pieces that go together easily are fantastic. Some pieces just hang around and eventually get put into other artworks.”
Silvernail points out a piece that is a collection of machine parts.
“It’s abstract yet it’s cohesive,” she said. “I’m using old pieces that should go in the garbage, but they still have beauty and function in a piece of art.”
The beauty in the work comes from Silvernail’s vision of a life beyond an object’s original function. Once that object has served its original purpose, be it a machine or a tin can, the tendency is to discard it. But Silvernail’s art gives the old object a renewed sense of purpose, a new life. There is universal human truth in her creativity.
Not everything is trash. Some pieces incorporate pictures or letters from her mother or father, or other family members.
“Rather than having the items just put it in a drawer, I try to use them to get them new life,” she said. “I don’t really research, but I am looking into the pieces that I have and try to draw a story out of it. I really don’t want to be too thematic. I likes the viewer to make their own story.”
The works contain everyday objects that viewers will connect with. Maybe it’s a photograph of a woman that looks like one’s grandmother. Maybe it’s an old wrapper from a childhood comfort food or a favorite toy. Silvernail’s work is affordable and draws people to it.
“I think it does spark a memory or two in people, that’s all I can think,” she said.
Most of the pieces are relief panels designed to hang on the wall. Silvernail said people have more wall space than they have shelf space.
“I think it fits their needs better than something that would take up a lot of room,” she said.
Silvernail hopes that people buy her work, if only to clear space for more pieces. As an addict, she is compelled to keep creating. And there are more objects are out there waiting to be rejuvenated. It is easy to sum up her process.
“I guess it’s an appreciation for broken mismatched pieces that come together to tell a story or make you feel good — it’s as simple as that, really,” she said.
BAL is located at 2675 Gulf Street in Beaumont. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, Noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. For more, visit beamontartleague.us.
This story first ran in the May 19, 2024 Art of Living section of The Beaumont Enterprise.
English with a bit of Texas 