BOONE—The Looking Glass Gallery in Appalachian State University’s Plemmons Student Union presents “Unrequited Contemplation,” an exhibition featuring work by Alissa Sauter. “Unrequited Contemplation” is on display through May 13. There will be a reception held on May 13 from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Looking Glass Gallery. This event is free and open to the public.

Sauter is one of only two senior studio art majors working towards a BFA that were afforded the Looking Glass to house their senior semester-long project. Sauter works primarily in earthworks. The art she created for this exhibition is made entirely out of local sticks and hot glue made especially for wood. Her installation work transforms the space into a serene landscape, with twisting and turning branches leading the viewer around the space. Her hope is for the viewer to find a “truth” similar to the truth that Sauter finds while creating this pieces.

Looking Glass Curator Ariel Moran said about Sauter’s work, “I am happy to facilitate a place during the most stressful time of year for students where they can go can get away from the hectic daily stresses. Alissa is providing not only a service, but a beautiful, reflective place. Her work aims to challenge what traditional ‘art materials’ are, and shows that with a little creativity, an artist can make art out of anything. Her work also aims at showing humans innate connection to nature, and embodies the ebb and flow that the world’s natural systems go about each day without our knowledge.”

Sauter’s interest in meditation, as well as her influence and experience working with Patrick Dougherty, and a profound fascination with earthworks and land art, compelled her to submit her senior project to the Looking Glass. The gallery is one of the only spaces in Boone that can facilitate such an exhibition. The intimate space, in addition to the unique lighting from the floor, makes the space peaceful and immersive.

Artist Biography

Alissa Sauter was born in Covina, California. In 2013, she moved to Boone to pursue her Bachelor of Fine Art degree in studio art at Appalachian State University. Sauter is experienced in many mediums, but has developed a love for found mixed media sculpture and installation. A major theme that is explored in her work is the natural world and how humans interact with it. Sauter enjoys bringing found natural materials into the gallery space to influence how the viewer sees and experiences nature. Deeply intrigued by the meditative properties that the wilderness can exert, Sauter has developed her practice around the art of active meditation. With repetitive motions she intertwines branches and twigs to form movement in common undervalued natural objects. Sauter’s work has been viewed in different venues around Boone.

About Looking Glass Gallery

Looking Glass Gallery is located in Plemmons Student Union at 293 Locust St., on Appalachian State University’s campus. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sunday noon to 11 p.m. The gallery exhibits, communicates, and supports the visual arts by offering students and the university the opportunity to become involved and experience artwork produced here at Appalachian.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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