This is a biweekly series about art and artists in the region. Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts serves the community through arts education, exhibitions and artist resources.
Anna Mikolay has believed that art is power since the age of 5, she says.
“It’s mentally challenging, calming, grounding, rewarding and in some ways mysterious,” the Pittsburgh-based artist says. “Sometimes you have to forge into the unknown — but whenever I take that leap I never regret it.”
Ms. Mikolay, who grew up in Beaver Falls and earned her bachelor of fine arts degree at Edinboro University, is one of the many talented visual artists featured in the 2014 Pittsburgh Biennial — a yearlong showcase of regional art, taking place in several venues across the city.
Her exhibition, “Moving Through Stillness,” is powerful: a riot of colors and patterns that extend 67 feet along the gallery walls at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside. It is on view through Nov. 2.
“The piece was designed to interact with the architectural character of the site by painting on an entire surface. And the viewing experience changes based on your location in the hallway,” she explains. It activates the space, in the sense that the viewer begins to read it as something more than a corridor.
The color fields and repetitive patterns create order, guiding the viewer through the piece as they move through the hall.
“This is the first time that I have painted directly onto the wall surface and filled the entire space,” she says. “It is a breakthrough of sorts for me in terms of moving beyond the canvas.”
In many ways the exhibit melds seamlessly with the building, using vibrant color throughout — even on crown molding and baseboards. Checkerboards of orange and black give way to the negative spaces, such as doorways.
The installation is striking in both its breadth and complexity.
Ms. Mikolay will give an artist talk at Pittsburgh Center for the arts from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, along with fellow Biennial artist Steve Gurysh.
More of Ms. Mikolay’s work can be found at her website: annamikolay.com. To learn more about all the artists, venues and events featured in the 2014 Pittsburgh Biennial, visit pittsburghbiennial.org.
First Published: September 30, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
