Marissa Lehner, “Anima Mundi,” September 25 – November 6, 2015

Exhibition Catalog, Marissa Lehner, Anima Mundi

Marissa Lehner creates sculptures and spaces that are poetic and accessible to her audience. She initiates an immersing sensory experience for the audience through the combination of simple forms and textures as well as materials and methods. Her work addresses large themes such as birth, death, fragility, and futility. Her use of materials with natural and familiar origins renders complex emotions more tangible. Her use of reclaimed materials allows multiple histories to intertwine while leaving space for the audience to bring their own personal memories and associations to the work.

This installation also acts as a symbolic self-portrait representing the oscillation between two often conflicting states of mind. The text, which is handwritten on strips of linen and woven through the sculpture’s canopy, is meant to provide solace. Lehner invites visitors to write their own affirmations and add them to the installation. Much as Lehner brings her own emotions to each space in which she installs her work, she hopes that her audience will do the same.

Marissa Lehner is an artist and educator from Buffalo, New York. She received her BFA from Alfred University and MS in Art Education from Nazareth College. She is committed to community arts engagement and is one of the founders of Emerging Leaders of the Arts Buffalo (ELAB). She is a former board member of the Buffalo Arts Studio and is currently the project director for the Ferry Street Corridor Project.