Pocket Utopia is pleased to present a solo exhibition of artist in residence, Libby Hartle. Since September, Libby Hartle has been transporting her materials and focusing her art-making to a small table at the back of the gallery, transporting her supplies and transforming her ideas to co-exisit with an exhibition program and a visiting public.

The result is presented here in the form of found papers (parking tickets, lottery stubs, and other detritus), picked up on her walks to the gallery and turned into, through a sorting, soaking and casting process, a brightly colored habitat. Hartle, working in the space and relating to its visitors has also expanded the floor space into a seating area, or a place to perch and drink tea or sip beer (Hartle is an expert “beeramid” builder).

A visitor can join Hartle as she “hosts” a salon of drawn and collaged structures (homes and bus-mobiles), cut and glued through a semi-architectural drawing process or what Hartle has termed “stickitecture.”  The space is filled and formed for the viewer to sit and plan their escape.

There will be a salon discussion on Wednesday, April 28th at 6:00 p.m. where the artist will be present to talk about the post-studio practice and artist residencies. Refreshments will be served. This discussion is a part of Austin Thomas’s salon series titled, “Excuse me, you have art in your teeth.”

Pocket Utopia is an away-from center, off-center, exhibition, salon and social space run by artist Austin Thomas.