Saturday, August 6, 2022

Achala Wali: Surface Densities
Everson Museum of Art

Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

Achala Wali's complex drawings unfold through the layering of graphite, ink, and other mixed media onto paper. She takes inspiration from the natural world — everything from the forms made by ice as it breaks over a lake to shadows caused by an eclipse to industrial rust. She translates these scenes into abstract forms. As Wali layers one pattern over another, her drawings emerge, some pulsing with energy and movement and others appearing frozen in time.

Surface Densities contemplates the natural world through the physical act of drawing. The work is informed by personal and shared experiences alike, including the force of rivers, electromagnetic currents, the teardrop shape of an ear, or the structure of hair tendrils on Greek archaic sculpture.

Wali is one of the artists selected as part of the CNY Artist Initiative, a competitive program that highlights the multi-faceted talents of CNY artists.