Why does the proverbial chicken cross the road? How do we get to the other side of an obstacle, whether physical, emotional or metaphorical; the other side of grief or the ability to see the other side of an argument? 

Our paths, while always unique, are rarely straightforward. Five artists from four countries (France, Japan, the Philippines and the U.S.) press forward on their journeys in this exhibition of sculpture, installation and painting. Each artist deals with the separation between before and after, front and back or here and there, the line in the sand between those sides getting sharper with knowledge gained or more blurry with the passage of time. 

Elodie Blanchard’s bouquet wall sculptures are inspired by flowers placed on headstones in Greenwood cemetery, tokens of the living left to mark their remembrance of those who have passed over to the other side. Ai Campbell’s pigment paintings peek through veils of meditative white ink drawings while Sonjie Solomon carves a winding path from point A to point B in her wood and resin disks. Using an innovative burn-out process, Kate Rusek builds wall-like porcelain sculptures that turn inward in a protective posture, safeguarding treasures on the inside. Natale Adgnot’s installations and sculptures tap into the language of logic and fallacy to implore the consideration of opposing points of view. 

“The Other Side” was the inaugural group exhibition at N/A Project Space opening during Upstate Art Weekend 2023. The exhibition was on view from July 21 through 24, 2023.