TEMPE, Ariz. – Artists Christina Barnes and Matthew Picon examine the idea of abandonment and how objects or spaces are rejected and left behind by the people who used them in the exhibition “Abandoned” on display from Dec. 14-April 17 at the Connections Café in the Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Road.

Prior to the exhibition, the artists had not met each other, yet both artists portray the hidden beauty and life that can be found in society’s discarded remnants. Christina Barnes’s digitally manipulated photos of trash found in an empty field along her daily dog-walking path is mean to teach people to take a second glance when they come across trash on the road. Matthew Picon’s works are a pairings of images and sculptures of abandoned spaces that are part of a larger series of works entitled, transPLANT, which explores the purposes and uses of these sites and natures struggle to reclaim them.

About the Artists
Barnes is a self-taught artist who has been making art her entire life. She has lived in the valley for the past 15 years and is originally from Southern California. For 11 years, she and her husband owned a business brokerage company; however, she decided it was not for her and left to work full-time in her studio. Today she paints, sculpts and designs jewelry and textiles and sells her art on her online store, Melted Butterfly Arts. www.meltedbutterflyarts.com

Picon was born in Whittier, Calif. He studied photography for nine years in Santa Barbara, Norwalk and Fullerton, Calif., and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Intermedia at Arizona State University. Today he works primarily on art installations throughout the valley, incorporating printmaking, found objects, multimedia and photographs. www.mattpicon.com

Hours
10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday
10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday
10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Noon to 5 p.m., Sunday
(Closed on city-observed holidays)

About the exhibition space
The Connections Café gallery wall at the Tempe Public Library provides local artists with an opportunity to express themselves, experiment with new media and themes and realize the similarities and differences between their work and the work of other artists. The individuals in the Connections’ exhibitions seem to be at a different crossroads in their artistic careers and fields of interest; yet, both share some unique bond that ties them together.