Opening Reception: Thursday, September 3, 4:30-6:00 p.m. in the Sechrest Gallery
Christopher Nitsche takes to heart a truism by artist Jenny Holzer, “When you throw something away, what does away mean?” Based in Savannah, Georgia, his work reconsiders found objects in relation to the form and function of a cargo ship as a vessel for consumerism. He is committed to working with found materials destined for a landfill, repurposing common objects and metals to exist anew as works of art. The ship is a powerful form, heavy and weightless, loaded as a carrier of meaning. All these transported materials from manufacturers, which end up discarded, become the source of cultural and personal metaphor.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Nitsche has exhibited at numerous museums and galleries throughout the United States and internationally, including the Mobile Museum of Art, Spartanburg Art Museum, Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Museums. A recipient of artist fellowships from the Colorado and New Hampshire state arts councils, he holds an MFA from the University of New Mexico and recently retired as Professor of Foundation Studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
