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Joyce Brienza and Matt Degenaro: Less is (and) More

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Paint Creek presents the works of Joyce Brienza and Matt Degenaro in Less is (and) More, Oct. 4 — Nov. 1

Joyce Brienza, Lecturer II, occupies the More” of this pairing with works that sample and borrow from a multitude of sources and styles to combine in a way that allows the work to be continuously engaged in a process of constitution, dissolution, and reconstitution of form. Joyce earned her MFA at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has exhibited her work in gallery and museum shows all over the United States and in Germany, Argentina and The Netherlands, and has participated in artist residencies in New Jersey and at Children’s Hospital in Detroit. 

Matt Degenaro, a staff consultant at the UM Duderstadt Center’s Digital Media Commons, makes work that occupies the Less” of this equation in it’s dedication to the modernist simplification of form. His work engages the method of endless variations on a single essential form through a variety of mediums such as carved wood, stone, fabricated metal, rubber inner tubes and live grasses. Matt earned his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his work has been exhibited in galleries and museums since 1980. As much as these two differ in approach, what joins them, is a willingness to experiment and explore their various ideas with an attitude of seriousness about their work, without taking themselves too seriously. This exhibit is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kresge Foundation.

Less is (and) More
Oct. 4 — Nov. 1
Opening reception: Friday, October 4th at 7:00 pm
Gallery talk with the artists: Saturday, October 5th at 2:00 pm 
Paint Creek Center for the Arts
407 Pine Street
Rochester, MI 48307