Philadelphia artist Neysa Grassi's Foreign Language presents works influenced by the artist's travels over the last 19 years in Florence, Italy; Ballycastle on the Northwest Coast of Ireland; and Mojácar, Spain; as well as by her native Philadelphia and time spent in Vermont and Maine. This traveling exhibition is accompanied by a publication with an essay by critic Jennie Hirsh, and will open at the galleries at MICA in fall of 2016.
Katy Scarlett, Borgenicht Curatorial and Education Associate at the DCCA, notes that Grassi's work holds the emotional and psychological impressions of the artist's past physical surroundings, but reminds us that we can never truly recreate experiences. Even if the cities, buildings, and landscapes of our past could remain unaltered, we are constantly changing. Grassi generously offers the strange beauty of her encounters, relatable and well-loved stills of time and place, blurry and soaked in wonder. Each work in Foreign Language evokes longing for what we once saw, felt, or spoke that was foreign, but has long since become an inextricable part of ourselves.