Tiffin University’s Diane Kidd Gallery to host ‘Ply-memories’ by Julia LaBay Darrah

Tiffin, Ohio — From Aug. 22 through Oct. 7, Tiffin University’s Diane Kidd Gallery will feature the work of Julia LaBay Darrah in an artistic installation entitled, “Ply-memories.”

An opening reception will be held Wednesday, Aug. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

The “Ply-memories” exhibition comments on the aesthetic of middle-class society by utilizing daily life as its subject matter. LaBay sees the design process as art making, which is executed using clear and formal rules referencing human interaction. She makes use of a wide array of materials and processes to create multi-layered display pieces.

LaBay’s work is characterized by her use of commonplace objects presented through the lens of a middle-class mentality. By investigating language through the materials used, she lures viewers into a world of ongoing balance that articulates a stream of daily events.

This exhibit portrays moments that exist only to punctuate human drama and clarify one’s existence, so they may learn to find poetic meaning in everyday life.

“Memories can be evoked by a form, a color, a space, a texture or an object,” said LaBay. “The pieces in this show hint to the idea of how a memory can be remembered or experienced. By referencing human interaction and using material as language, a multi-layered viewing experience is created.”

LaBay received her bachelor’s of fine arts in sculpture at the University of Toledo in 2012 and her master’s of fine arts from Bowling Green State University in 2015. She is currently an instructor with the University of Toledo’s Department of Art and is the Curator for the Blair Museum of Lithophanes. She manages her own design company called LaBay Designs, and her work has been exhibited both regionally and nationally at galleries and museums such as the Toledo Museum of Art, Northern Kentucky University and Mary Grove College.

LaBay has been recognized with several awards and grants for her creations. Her most recent artistic project involved creating a body of work for the Toledo Arts Commission’s Interactive Art Festival.

For more information about this exhibition, email Joseph Van Kerkhove at [email protected].