Since 2001 Turning the Page has been an opportunity for WPA interns to curate an exhibition.  In an increasingly
digital age, it seems appropriate to permanently move the series to a digital space, which is becoming the new
gallery of our contemporary times.  In this virtual exhibition, we introduce you to four WPA member artists and
their innovative techniques.  These artists were selected from the WPA Artfile Online, the WPA Artist Directory,
and a series of studio visits.  

The theme for this virtual installation of Turning the Page is “Surface Tension.”  Each artist selected is working
with layered mediums, employing original methods, and exploring surface treatments that make their artwork
both texturally rich and visually complex.  James W. Bailey’s eerie photographs are desaturated images that
are flawed by his self-devised method called “rough edge photography,” in which he manipulates images by
burning, scratching, or cutting them throughout the photographic process.  Michael Fitts’ astonishingly realistic
paintings of common objects such as animal crackers or shoes are rendered on found pieces of scrap metal,
floating out of context on a distressed plane of tin or aluminum.  In Kevin Kepple’s dynamic paintings, glues,
varnishes, and hand-mixed inks combine in abstract patterns to create an intricate surface that allows for the
interplay of light and texture.  8:45 9-11 2001, a mixed media collage by Cleve Overton, is a technological landscape
addressing both the tragic scene of 9-11 as well as the need for a more effective environmental waste infrastructure. 
As a group, these four Turning the Page artists’ utilize and create surfaces that challenge traditional composition,
and their artwork is well suited to be viewed digitally. We hope you examine the structure of these pieces, and in
doing so, resonate with their varied surfaces as much as we have.

--Jessica Granda and Lexi Kirsch


BEGIN EXHIBITION