Counterbalance Links York, Lancaster Counties’ Artists at Marketview Arts
The exhibit in April and May in downtown York aims to spark collaboration and conversation between neighboring creative communities.
If there’s one concept that the COVID-19 pandemic solidified for Lancaster-based artists Matthew Apol and Jeremy Waak, it’s that visual arts are best experienced in person so that individuals can immerse themselves in the textures, shapes, and colors of an exhibit.
For two and a half years, they have been co-curating Counterbalance, an exhibition that they will unveil at Marketview Arts in York, a hub for culture and creativity for York College in the community.
The exhibit debuted this year at the Lancaster Museum of Art from January to February and will reopen at Marketview Arts on April 3 during York’s First Friday celebration. The show features recent pieces from 12 artists living and working in York and Lancaster counties, including York College of Pennsylvania faculty members Ry Fryar, an Assistant Professor of Art, and Vito Grippi, a Lecturer in Creative Writing. The exhibit will showcase paintings, sculptures, and three-dimensional art.
One exhibition, two cities
Apol is a York College graduate and a 2017-2018 Appell Arts Fellow. It’s an artist residency at Marketview Arts awarded annually to recent York College graduates. He and Waak have taught in York College’s Fine Art program. The concept for Counterbalance originated from a conversation between them, where they realized that, despite being less than an hour apart, York’s and Lancaster’s art communities rarely intersect.
“There was an ignorance,” Waak says. “We both realized that we knew very little about the other city as far as the art community is concerned.”
That conversation led to a broader question: How could artists and audiences in the two counties become more connected? The answer is through a collaborative exhibition that brings artists from both communities together in a single project.
The same artists will be featured in York and Lancaster. The curators took an unusually hands-on approach when selecting artists. Instead of relying solely on submissions or online portfolios, they visited artists to learn about their work firsthand.
“For each artist, we did a studio visit. We went to their space, we talked to them about their work at length, and then we selected work from there,” Apol says.
The curators searched for artists who were in the thick of creating, dedicated to their craft, and doing exceptional work. They also looked for artists who were enthusiastic about collaboration between the counties.
Artists rooted in the region
Though the artists in Counterbalance live and work in the two counties, the exhibition doesn’t solely focus on regional imagery. Instead, the curators chose artists whose work reflects a wide range of styles, ideas, and creative approaches. The goal was to highlight the depth and diversity of work being produced locally while giving audiences multiple entry points into the exhibition.
“These are all people based in Lancaster and York counties, but they’re not necessarily making work about Lancaster and York counties,” Apol says.
The result is an exhibition that highlights the region's creative energy while encouraging visitors to see familiar communities in new ways.
Experiencing the works in person
The curators hope that the opening reception for Counterbalance at Marketview Arts will encourage attendees to engage with the artwork and the artists. Apol notes that many pieces in the exhibition feature subtle textures and details that can only be appreciated in person.
“Some of this work, there is texture, there is nuance to it, there is detail. You’re not going to see the details without attending,” he says.
The reception will offer opportunities for artists from both counties to meet one another and connect with audiences, which the curators see as central to the exhibition’s mission. Waak wants visitors to leave the gallery with a new appreciation for visual arts being created close to home.
“I hope one of the things that strikes the viewers is that they don’t have to go to Art Basel Miami Beach or New York City to see great artwork,” he says. “There are artists here that I can tap into.”
Counterbalance opens from 5-9 p.m. on April 3 at Marketview Arts during York’s First Friday. It will feature the works of Reagan Bitler, Ry Fryar, Jill C. Good, Vito Grippi, Fred Haag, Leah Limpert Walt, Amelia Mellberg, Laura Roberts, Shannon Ryan, Jeremy Santiago-Horseman, Tom Scullin, and Zachary Shaffer. There is also a Curator’s Talk at 6 p.m. during the First Friday event. The exhibition continues through May 23, offering visitors multiple opportunities to explore the works and discover the artists shaping the creative communities of York and Lancaster counties.
Marketview Arts hours are as follows:
Tuesday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Wednesday 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Thursday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Friday 12 p.m. -7 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
*hours may vary due to private events in the gallery
