Art Exhibition Monumentally Fragile: Catherine Ruane, David Tomb, and Holly Wong

College of the Desert is pleased to announce that a new exhibition of large-scale paper works entitled “Monumentally Fragile” is on display now through March 28 at the Marks Art Center.

There will also be a closing reception and artists’ walk through on Friday, March 24 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Curated by Ray Beldner, artist and Director of Startup Curatorial, the exhibit brings together large works on paper by Catherine Ruane (Morongo Valley, CA), David Tomb (Marin, CA), and Holly Wong (San Francisco, CA).

The title of the show, “Monumentally Fragile,” refers both to the scale the artists employ in making their work, and to the fragility of their material, which is paper. It also refers to the precariousness of their subject matter, which is often nature: trees, birds, water—even our “life force.” They each use multiple smaller paper pieces to build their compositions and, in the process of installation, map out, occupy, and define space.

Paper, which is both a humble and mutable material, is a perfect metaphor for the tenuous state of the world which these artists find themselves in. Working passionately and insistently, they ask us to consider the beauty of this world and what we may be close to losing.

The exhibit is open to the public Tuesday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts (MAC) is a nonprofit facility that supports arts education and enriches the cultural lives of our students, faculty, and community. The MAC is at 43500 Monterey Ave., Palm Desert. The gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and by appointment.

For more information, please contact the Marks Art Center at (760) 776-7278 or visit them on Instagram @marksartcenter.

Exhibition dates 1/28/2023-3/24/2023