The Shape of Things

CURATED BY SHANNON RAE FINCKE

FALL 2025

CURATOR STATEMENT

As I reviewed the submissions for this exhibition, one element revealed itself repeatedly and powerfully—shape.

As emphasis, structure, boundary, and emotional force, shapes, whether sharply defined or less perceptible, appeared as a thread connecting a range of mediums, styles, and perspectives. The Shape of Things, borrowed from Neil LaBute’s play and film, surfaced early in the curatorial process and continued to resonate as I examined each work more deeply. What emerged was a realization: how we perceive shapes— and the relationships between them, as well as their impact on other elements within each work—shifts depending on context, perspective, and proximity. This transforms not just the physical composition, but also our psychological interpretation of the work. This exhibition invites viewers to look again and consider how each artist's use of positive and negative spatial relationships intensifies and transforms what we see and how we feel.

Each artwork uses shape as a common code of visual language—through which mood, emotion, and concept are expressed. Whether overt or subtle, the compositional role of shape is often the driving force of the work. Shapes define and isolate space, create balance and tension, and guide the eye further into the composition and meaning within each piece. Some moments within the works invite a sense of safety or containment, while

others evoke unease or isolation. Positive and negative spaces play off one another, calling attention to both what is there and what is not.

Curated during a time of great socio-political uncertainty and unrest, the boundaries these artists construct and deconstruct, through a shared vocabulary of clear and undefined areas of space, feel especially resonant—reflecting a need for security and structure. The works suggest that even in dissonance, there is design—an intentional arrangement of parts that allows for complexity, ambiguity, and nuance. The interplay of the shapes within these works speaks not only to aesthetic concerns, but also to the psychological spaces we occupy. Their interactions can simultaneously unify and divide, comfort and confront. The Shape of Things reflects how artists communicate meaning, not just through what is depicted, but through the relationships that define what we see—and what remains unseen.

ABOUT SHANNON RAE FINCKE

Shannon Rae Fincke is an artist, educator, curator, and gallerist. In 2023 she founded The Middle Room, a contemporary female-focused gallery concentrating on mid-career artists and on creating connections and conversation. She is also the owner and director of Institute for Visual Arts, a community-based art school for children, teens, and adults, which she founded in 2011.

Fincke's paintings have been exhibited internationally and featured in print, film, and television. Most recently, she had a solo exhibition at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, and group exhibitions at Chautauqua Institute School of Art, Chautauqua, NY; The Stairwell Space, Bridgeport, CT; Torrance Art Museum TRYST Art Fair, Torrance, CA; and Spilt Milk Gallery, Edinburgh, UK. She has been featured by Voyage LA Magazine, CanvasRebel, VVrkshop Art, Shoutout LA, Women United Art Magazine, and Art Mums United Podcast. She has also presented talks and served on panels for organizations such as Sustainable Arts Foundation, Polytechnic School, and Mount Saint Mary’s University.

Fincke studied at The Marchutz School of Art in France and earned her bachelor’s in Studio Art from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania and her master’s in Painting and Art Education from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She lives in Los Angeles, where she resides with her three daughters and maintains an active studio practice.

@ShannonRaeFincke

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