Keepsake

Keepsake

Curated by Sarah Irvin and John Lee Matney

Opening: July 28, 2012
Closing: September 23, 2012    

Keepsake was a thematic group exhibition co-curated by artist Sarah Irvin and gallery director John Lee Matney, presented at the Linda Matney Fine Art Gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia, from July 28 to September 23, 2012. The exhibition’s title alludes to objects and memories treasured over time, and the show explored how personal and collective histories are preserved, altered, or reinterpreted through contemporary art.

Irvin and Matney brought together five emerging artists—Jacob Copetillo, Khate Gausman, Sarah Irvin, Wayne Devin Llywelyn, and Matthew P. Shelton—whose works engaged with themes of memory, nostalgia, family heritage, and the endurance or fragmentation of history. In alignment with the gallery’s mission to present innovative, research-driven art across painting, photography, installation, video, sculpture, and performance, Keepsake embraced a wide range of media. Sculptural installations, altered photographs, text-based works, sound, and performance came together to form a cohesive and resonant narrative about what we choose to remember or save.

The curatorial theme centered on memory as a creative and interpretive process—how tangible keepsakes (such as heirlooms, photographs, or historical documents) and ephemeral experiences (such as music, spoken language, and family stories) shape identity. The selected works treated personal memory as raw material, probing its reliability and emotional weight. Many of the pieces involved acts of literal deconstruction or transformation: shredding and reassembling domestic objects, erasing text into abstraction, or fragmenting historical images. These gestures invited reflection on the value—and the values—of history and memory.

Each artist contributed a distinct perspective, from intimate family narratives to broader cultural and historical critiques. Yet all shared a concern with the passage of time and the fragility of what remains. The result was a multi-sensory exhibition—including a live music component—that asked viewers to consider how keepsakes, in both art and life, preserve and reshape meaning.

Exhibiting Artists:

Jacob Copetillo, Khate Ghausman, Sarah Irvin, Wayne Devin Llywelyn, Matthew P. Shelton