Heather Layton, Allen Topolski, “Coping Mechanisms,” September 22 – November 3, 2017

Exhibition Catalog, Kurt von Voetsch and Heather Layton, Allen Topolski

Rochester artists Heather Layton and Allen Topolski combine delicate drawings and absurd assemblages into a discourse on contemporary culture. Their exhibition Coping Mechanisms proposes instruments that may be employed to overcome disruptions to the moral order. As with many artists, including concurrent exhibitor Kurt Von Voetsch, Layton and Topolski use their artistic processes as means for processing both internal and external dilemmas. Using the mundane, they unmake and remake familiar objects, providing hand-written directions for their prescribed use. The artworks and their instructions function as therapeutic devices for those suffering the consequence of the current social and political climate.

The viewer cannot be passive to realize remedies through this exhibition. With Layton’s drawings, visitors must read the text, recognize the irony, and visualize the outcomes. Topolski’s devices require a physical conviction. One must use the Sphygmomanometer to benefit from its medicinal properties and the same is true of his other sculptures. Together, this work offers comfort through both humor and commiseration. However, as with most therapy, results may vary.

Heather Layton is an artist and senior lecturer of art at the University of Rochester. She has presented her work across the United States, Turkey, Slovakia, South Korea, Canada, Hungary, Austria, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Oman, and India. Her exhibitions have been featured in the New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Huffington Post, Pakistan Today, and in Popular Science magazine. In 2015, Layton started the Common Sense Collective with her husband and collaborator, Brian Bailey, as a cross-disciplinary initiative to find common ground between seemingly different groups of people through artistic, global exchange.

Allen C. Topolski attended Bucknell University and Penn State University. He is a practicing artist and Associate Professor of Art in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Rochester. Topolski has exhibited his work at Hallwalls in Buffalo, NY and he has been included in shows at San Jose Museum of Art, CA, Moreau Art Gallery, the Salina Art Center, Colgate University, and Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton NJ. Topolski has had solo exhibitions at Samek Gallery in Lewisburg, PA, Saint Mary’s College, and at the Islip Art Museum on Long Island.