The Fifth Wheel
Sarah Nance | Julia Oldham | Alanna Risse | Jane Schiffhauer

Exhibition Dates: February 10 – March 19, 2016

"Aye, the Pequod—that ship there," he said, drawing back his whole arm, and then rapidly shoving it straight out from him, with the fixed bayonet of his pointed finger darted full at the object.
“Yes," said I, "we have just signed the articles."
"Anything down there about your souls?"
"About what?"
"Oh, perhaps you hav'n't got any," he said quickly. "No matter though, I know many chaps that hav'n't got any,—good luck to 'em; and they are all the better off for it. A soul's a sort of a fifth wheel to a wagon."

From Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville

Linfield Gallery is pleased present an exhibition featuring new work from four women artists in conversation with Melville’s classic American novel Moby Dick. The Fifth Wheel, which takes its title from a passage in the novel describing the inessential nature of the human soul, brings together artists of different mediums and styles to the Linfield Gallery. The combination of site-specific installation, sculpture, and hand-drawn animation, brings a new perspective to the famously masculine literary work.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Sarah Nance is an American artist working in installation, drawing and sculpture. Natural light occupies a central role in her work, as it is intimately related to considerations of perception, beauty and ephemerality. She completed her MFA at the University of Oregon and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor/Area Head in Fiber at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Julia Oldham was raised by a physicist, an avid gardener and a pack of dogs in rural Maryland, and her childhood was filled with adventures in the woods, bee stings, drawings, and science experiments. Oldham studied art history at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and then received her MFA from the University of Chicago. She spends her time in New York and Oregon.

Alanna RIsse is a multidisciplinary artist living in Portland, Oregon. Through the lense of humor, fantasy, and play, Risse’s fort-like installations explore desire, vulnerability, and fear. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, She holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and an MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Jane Schiffhauer is a multi-disciplinary artist who makes prints, sculptures, photographs and videos using a range of materials. Her work often explores ideas of memory, mythology, gender and the body. Schiffhauer received her Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Prior to that she earned a B.S. degree from Syracuse University.