In just a few days, the walls of ALG Fine Art will be transformed by the artwork of Christi Meril as she opens her new solo show on October 3rd. It’s been an honour to witness the creation of “The Long Journey Home,” and I can’t wait for you all to see this collection of canvas paintings and mixed-media sculptures.
When working on the hang with Christi, I became intimately familiar with each piece in the show and the whole narrative told by the collection. Here are four themes from this artwork that I can’t stop thinking about.
Merging of nature and urban energy
In her artwork, Christi expertly crafts with natural elements such as wood and modern art techniques such as acrylic. She’s able to call in energy from the cities she has lived in, including her current home, Dallas, and the natural landscapes she has walked, referencing the forests of Northern California. During her travels, she has brought elements of all these places home to interact with Dallas.
In particular, I’m in awe of her use of vertical language. There are heightened elevations in all the environments she references in the form of trees, mountains, and skyscrapers. It speaks a message of strength, grounding, and resilience, still with a flow and softness.
The past is never left in the past
I love how Christi doesn’t only connect the natural world and urban landscapes but also the past, present, and future. They all interconnect. As we carry things from the places we have been and the people we have met, memories of the past shape who we are today and guide our direction as we walk into the future.
Christi has symbolized this through her use of plain paper in her sculptures. They are a physical embodiment of what we carry in our heads and hearts from previous stops on the journey. What we carry helps us understand who we are and what we hold dear.
Meaning and connection are all around us
Walking through “The Long Journey Home” feels as grounding and rejuvenating as a walk in nature. The artwork has absorbed the colors and textures of Santa Fe, Northern California, and the Rockies. This isn’t an escape from reality but a reconnection to the self. There is so much meaning to be found in our surroundings, especially in things that aren’t always valued.
Old-growth redwood has a beautiful story of resilience. Their forests are at minimum 200 years old and can date back to over 2,000 years old. But at one point they were at risk of being wiped out. For at least 100 years, the lumber industry cut these majestic trees down without consequence. They have been protected from being cut down since the 1950s. The pieces used in Christi’s artwork have long fallen and then been found by a craftsman on the Mendocino coast of Northern California. Christi visits his workshop to hand-select each piece of old-growth redwood and hear its story.
The charcoal used in this show has a history of creativity, coming from an extinguished campfire on Ghost Ranch. This is where Georgia O’Keeffe would create her artwork. Even the paper is a byproduct of wood. Its use is a natural evolution of Christi’s sculptural language and storytelling through materials that have already lived a life.
Coming home means more than one thing
Returning home is so much more than putting your keys in the front door after traveling. It’s always a little sad to come home, bittersweet, because we are leaving behind the place we were before. At the same time, there’s no place like home. We never come back the same. There are new memories we carry from the deep emotional experience in other places, whether a taxicab in New York City or the adobe of Santa Fe.
Coming home is less about a place and more about understanding and staying true to ourselves. We metaphorically come home to ourselves when we experience hardship, connect with loved ones who know and celebrate us best, and start new chapters in our lives. Everything we do eventually takes us closer to ourselves.
Ultimately, this art show is about the safety, groundedness, and love that home brings to you, whatever home means for you. Walking the show prompts curiosity about your daily life, internal conversations, and appreciation for the journey so far as well as the journey yet to come.
Join me at the Opening Night Reception of “The Long Journey Home,” a solo art show by Christi Meril on Saturday October 3rd. Attendance is complimentary but the room only holds so many. Book your ticket HERE.