(411 Gallery)
A new art exhibit in observance of Mental Health Month featuring the works of a local artist will be on display in a free gallery exhibit during May.
“Psyche Relics” will feature Columbus-based artist Kimberly Rose Free’s 2D and 3D artworks that portray her journey through psychiatric treatment over the past three decades. Her work will be exhibited during gallery hours at 411 Gallery, 411 Sixth St., in downtown Columbus, from May 1-May 24. An artist reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2. The gallery is open noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
The exhibit will be presented by the Columbus Area Arts Council, in partnership with Mental Health Matters. It includes drawings that express a lived experience of serious mental illness over 30 years, revealing and documenting its ever-present invisibility through conceptual drawings and sculptures, many using found paper and objects.
“Through vulnerable yet playful introspection, the artist seeks to include the viewer in her quest for emotional well-being,” an announcement for the exhibit says. “Under everyone’s public persona lies a true self, and we all journey toward it. This series came to exist in recent years as the artist sought to create meaning from her journey. Two and three-dimensional works are artifacts from psychiatric treatment over 30 years. They reveal an invisible experience of mental health treatment. Conceptual and symbolic drawings seek to illustrate her healing from dark distress toward serenity. Aspects of treatment such as journaling, individual and group therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and medication trials are explored with gratitude and good humor.
Free lives and works in Columbus. She draws and paints her inner and outer reality as a daily practice of creative mindfulness and recovery from chronic pain and depression. With her use of paper and drawing, simplicity is a goal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in visual art and education and shows her work regionally.
411 Gallery is a community art gallery and cultural space for exhibitions, events, and collaborations. Managed by the Columbus Area Arts Council, 411 Gallery is located in downtown Columbus on the Sixth Street Arts Alley, a creative hub at the heart of the city.
The Columbus Area Arts Council is a non-profit organization that enriches the community through arts projects and programs, including exhibitions, events, local artist development initiatives, and grants to artists and organizations.
Mental Health Matters, Bartholomew Co. Initiative is a community-wide initiative created to address challenges and improve the mental health system for the well-being of youth and adults in Bartholomew County.
