Goldsleger, AU’s Morris Eminent Scholar

in Art, is presenting an exhibit in Venice

may 22, 2019 by aubellringer, posted in features
By Mary Cashin |
Contributor

Here is an example of the 3D artwork that AU’s Morris Eminent Scholar Cheryl
Goldsleger uses in some of her paintings. (photo by Taylor Branam)

Having the opportunity for one’s artwork to be exhibited in one of the world’s most artistically
renowned cities isn’t something every artist gets to experience in her career, but for Cheryl
Goldsleger, the Morris Eminent Scholar in Art at Augusta University, this dream has become a
reality.
Since May 11, Goldsleger’s 3D exhibit titled “Vast Scale – Intimate Space” has been exhibited at
the European Cultural Centre in Venice, Italy, in coordination with the Venice Biennale, which
presents the work of more than 150 artists from around the world. Her exhibit will run through
Nov. 24 at the Palazzo Bembo on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge.
Art is something that has been a significant aspect of Goldsleger’s life since she was a child.
“I have always made art,” Goldsleger said. As a child, I grew up taking extra art lessons on
Saturdays and in high school. you could take double art classes that met every day, so if you
gave up your lunch, you could go to art class every day, and I did that.”
Goldsleger was invited by Shannon Morris from the Mary Bird Gallery at AU to have her pieces
displayed at the European Cultural Centre in Venice.
This show is one that Goldsleger is familiar with, as she has even been to the exhibition many
times in previous years before she was invited.
“Having gone so many times you think, ‘Oh I would love to show in Venice,’ and so when
Shannon invited me, I was, ‘Oh, my goodness, how do we make this happen? Yes, I want to do
this,’” Goldsleger said.
The European Cultural Center told Goldsleger it is estimating more than 500,000 people from
around the world will see her art during that six months the works will be on display.
“That’s a huge honor; I’m thrilled,” Goldsleger said.
Since Morris’s proposal and Goldsleger’s work were accepted in January, Goldsleger had until
April to send off her paintings and had only completed one out of three paintings. So she’s spent
morning and night of the past four months working on the other two paintings.
“I was literally still painting when the shipper walked in the door, doing a last touch-up,” said
Goldsleger.
The titles of the three paintings are “Transient, Coalescence and Attenuous.” She says it’s
important to understand the meaning of the works.
Goldsleger pays a lot of attention to world news. For her pieces, she particularly focused on the
debate surrounding the immigration crisis. Since Goldsleger is interested in art that ties into
geometric shapes of landscapes and mapping, she used this to portray the boundaries being
disputed within the debate to bring about her own opinion on the issue.
“What occurs to me is that a lot of the things that are being debated now and seem to be in the
news, those boundaries, those borders are all sort of superficial, and they’re superimposed on top
of like a very chaotic natural landscape,”  Goldsleger said. “Yet they’re very arbitrary, and so my
work sort of talks in very abstract terms about the arbitrariness and how connected or
interconnected we are as various cultures.”
Stepping back, when asked what art as a whole means to her, Goldsleger revealed it’s not only a
way to talk about the issues going on in the world, but also it is way to have a conversation.
“It’s a way to relate to people because, even though I’ve told you what I think about what
motivates me to paint these paintings,” she said, “I know that when you look at them you may
see other things because you’ve had different experiences. And that we’ve made a conversation
because you’re thinking things and I’m thinking things, and those two things meet at that
artwork.”
With all of her experience and accomplishments in mind, when asked what advice she would
give to aspiring artists, she gives common-sense advice.
“The attrition rate in art is high, and so sticking with it, persevering, keep making your work,
don’t get discouraged,” she said.
After the Venice show, Goldsleger’s work is scheduled to be on display at the Morris Museum in
Augusta next spring.