A program of the City of Auburn, Art on Main is Auburn's prime art installation space. Artists are selected through an annual application process to install 3-dimensional or multi-media art installations in a public window-front exhibition space in downtown Auburn. The program offers a $1,000 artist stipend to support the installation of new or existing work as site-specific projects. Art on Main is located on East Main Street between N. Division St. and Auburn Avenue.

For information on this art opportunity visit our Call To Artists page.

Current Exhibition
 

Lisa Turner
October 27 - January 5, 2025
Plastic Bodies 2

“In the artwork Plastic Bodies 2, consumer objects are juxtaposed with the visual language of medical illustrations to create an environment. In some cases, these elements act as landmarks, other times they morph together to create Frankenstein like figures. Ultimately, they invite multiple interpretations while drawing attention to the inherent conflicts and confluence between the natural and the synthetic.”
- Lisa Turner

To learn more about the artist, visit their website:
lisaturnerart.com

Past Exhibitions

Roark Congdon
July 20 - October 13, 2024
 Metamorphosis: An Exploration of Urban Space through Inverted Dimensions

"Welcome to a reimagined world of Auburn’s cityscape! If you look carefully, you may see local architectural elements merged with contemporary 3D printing techniques, bridging the gap between tradition and modernity. This window installation invites you to explore dynamic 3D printed shapes inspired by the architectural gems of our city. There are elements of the city grid of Auburn, City Hall, the Masonic Temple, the Post Office, the Library, the now shuttered Auburn Avenue Theater, and even the arches and angles of the turreted structure at B Street and Main—all transformed into abstract forms. The vibrant color palette is drawn directly from elements our city's scenic public parks.

In this window tradition and innovation are not adversaries—they’re partners in a creative dance. Through this 3D printed installation, we hope to show you how these seemingly opposing forces can harmonize to produce something fresh, fun, happy, and engaging."

Lalitha Bandaru - April 10 - July 13, 2024
Unfurling

"Just out of the chrysalis, butterflies sometimes travel over two thousand miles in order to survive and continue their lineage. To this already challenging and herculean journey, our avarice and continual obtuse practices have impacted the climate to an extent that it’s almost irreversible, removing any chance of their survival. ‘Unfurling’ aims to shed light on the alarming rate at which some of these beautiful species are disappearing from existence.”

For more information about the artist, visit their website: lalithabandaru.com

KT Hancock - January 8 - March, 2024
Date Night

"Date Night" creates a luminous story starting with a single cyclist, dancing in the desert and ends with a romantic gesture beneath the moon. Words within the installation elude to destinations as ICE to describe the lone cycler, Dry is used to describe the desert cactus scene and Pizza and Pasta equates the to classic Date Night. Within the installation we also ask "Are We Here Yet?" as the dancers end in a sweet caress.
For more information about the artist, visit their website: kthancock.com

Brooke Fotheringham - October 14 - January 1, 2024
Corrosion Blooms

Sculpture artist Brooke Fotheringham is presenting in our Art on Main space this quarter. "This lenticular triptych is an exploration of entropy and corrosion, a daydream about how the universe is continually breaking things down to their base elements in an infinite cycle of rebuilding. Infrastructure crumbles as oxides grow and bloom out of them. The generative and destructive no longer opposites, but rather a series of reactions and evolutions on a shared continuum."

"My source images for this installation include honeysuckle flowers, ginger root, glass tile, and reflections from a pan lid filled with water. This installation was inspired by how the corrosive can become generative. I drew inspiration from the bismuth crystallization process, how metals craze when heated, and how I imagine manmade materials might age in atmospheres harsher than our own."

McGahan - Pushing Color
Deanne McGahan - July 7 - October 1, 2023
Pushing Color

Sculpture artist Deanne McGahan is taking our Art on Main space as an opportunity to break into using color in her work. "I've always struggled with adding color into my work as I tend to find it distracting in 3D forms" says McGahan. "My work is about moving forward, and through that, I've learned that I have to take more risks to make the world evolve, whether that's the society around us or the world as a whole. No color, no change. Creating art is how I navigate life and I hope the work that I can create can give that energy of Finding Color within anyone."

While this work looks weighty, it is lighter than traditional poured concrete. "In my process I hand press 2 inches of concrete into a one of a kind mold. Reinforcing PVA fibers are mixed into a back layer, adding strength and lightness." explains McGahan.

Maggie Andersen - April 11 - July 5, 2023
Re-Imagined

Clothing speaks in a universal language, and artist Maggie Andersen is weaving this silent communication into her work centered around the female figure. Using reclaimed recycled materials including metal hardware, chains, and permanent wave rods, Andersen creates life-sized wall sculptures of the female bust. These figures, hand fabricated using these unusual, recycled goods, are made to provoke thoughts on society and humankind through the industrial made fluid.

Stephanie Krimmel - January 12 - April  2, 2023
Thousands of Small Steps

In May 2018, Stephanie Krimmel began making a digital painting every day. It started as a challenge to herself to reclaim her creativity and became a sustaining passion that continues to grow. The resulting series, called the Daily Art Habit, is now built over almost 1700 consecutive day’s work and provides source material for ‘Thousands of Small Steps.’

The installation consists of over 1200 4x4 inch printed postcards organized by color and bound together into approximately 100 accordion books. Installed as a group, the daily pieces from the series work together to celebrate growth and perseverance by demonstrating the cumulative effect of daily practice.

Bella Kim - October 12, 2022 -January 2, 2023

In a world is faced with the need to save the planet from human-caused global warming, Bella Kim wants to be part of that movement and reduce the consumption of energy and resources while creating her art. Kim finds it is easy to locate leftovers and packages from food or merchandise that are going to be thrown away. She sees their colors and textures as unique, special, and still gorgeous. Kim collects these plastics and prepares them for transformation, then cuts, washes, and dries them. She regroups them based on colors and textures, then sews and patches the various sized pieces to create the whole artwork.

Bella Kim loves to see the harmony of small and insignificant patches, which blend so well together, often making patterns, textures, and unexpected effects such as transparency, shadows, and even 3-dimensional structures. Most of her work is expressed in the composition of lines and planes. Inspired by Korean traditional and western abstract art, her creativity is often sparked by imagination from nature, and the world around her. This transformation of useless materials into meaningful results gives Kim endless joy and she hopes that people will appreciate how ordinary materials can be used for art.

Michael Dinning - July 16 to October 2, 2022

 Michael Dinning has created an installation of artwork based around the central theme of American Fabric. The artwork is focused on imagery and ideas about the American experience, and the history of the country, as well as current issues and concerns. For this exhibit Dinning uses both free-standing and wall-hanging mixed-media pieces; all of which employ painted canvasses coupled with a wide variety of found objects, rustic wood and hardware, and light elements. The central concept is to present a collection of artwork that focuses on the issues of personal identity, history and location, those things that are specific to American history and society, as well as our identities within those confines.