I first discovered Silvermine out of a deep need to continue making art. After moving back from Memphis—where I had been taking night classes at the Memphis College of Art—I was eager to find more. Someone asked me if I knew about Silvermine, and from that moment, everything changed. As I began taking classes, I met wonderful friends who remain close to me today. Through those friendships and the exchange of ideas, I felt as though I had come home. For me, art is a language—a visual language—and it is essential to be in a place where that is nurtured. Silvermine offered just that: a space to share ideas, create side by side, participate in critiques, and support one another as artists. Now, thirty years later, I remain an active member. I have taken part in many juried exhibitions, which continue to provide the stimulation and sense of possibility that every artist needs. Silvermine has been my anchor—a jewel tucked into the woods that shines ever brighter the more it is cared for. It reaffirmed who I am, connected me with like-minded people, and gave me the confidence to pursue my art degree. Thank you, Silvermine.
June Ahrens is a New York City-born artist known for her sculptural and installation works that explore themes of fragility, trauma, healing, and memory. Her art invites immersive emotional engagement and communal reflection through intuitive use of materials, transforming everyday objects into symbolic installations. Ahrens's work has been widely recognized and exhibited, reflecting her dedication to public ritual and shared emotional experiences.
Exploration of trauma and healing: Ahrens creates immersive installations that use materials like broken glass and wire to evoke memory, loss, and regeneration, focusing on communal spaces for healing and emotional reflection.
The Healing Heart Project: Initiated after witnessing the events of September 11, 2001, this project involved collecting over 1,500 fabric hearts with personal messages worldwide, symbolizing communal grief and hope through living memorials installed in multiple locations.
Loss, pain, fragility and danger are major inspirations for my sculptural and site-dependent work. My work is ambitious and poetic, insistently facing and revealing the deep internal and external forces that are the residue of life’s experiences. I invite the viewer to embrace complexity, open-endedness, and beauty.
I create sculpture and site-dependent installations that incorporate everyday materials such as, insulation foam, hot glue stick, screening, air conditioner filters and safety pins. I isolate these materials to refocus the viewers' attention toward exploring and examining their own thoughts and feelings. I have focused my work with these quotidian materials for the past ten years.
The solitude of the studio is the site of play, experimentation, failures and successes. The metaphor of approach and retreat that ultimately engages the viewer is first reflected in the studio process, which is rigorous, personally inspiring and physically demanding. I am particularly drawn to texture and the manipulation of surfaces. Many of the works, both installations and discrete pieces, are extremely intricate and may take up to several years to complete.
The work continues to mine my personal experiences but is also reflective of universal longings. It is based on an awareness that tactile materials, especially those with a previous life, can provide a visceral and poetic response.
Over her career, Ahrens has held numerous solo exhibitions, including shows at the Housatonic Museum of Art and at the Trustman Gallery (Boston), and her work is part of the permanent collection at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City.
To inquire about the availability of June Ahrens' work, call Silvermine Gallery at 203-966-9700 x 220