Borderspaces: Works by Lisa Volta

Al-Bustan is pleased to present Borderspaces – artworks by LISA VOLTA – exploring borders through the depiction of architectural and natural spaces.

Artist Statement:

Growth, decay, and reconfiguration are evidence of the passage of time and can be marked through documented observation of changes, however small. I like to imagine we can be suspended in processes of transformation, and I investigate the integration of old and new architectural vs. natural spaces as a way to represent this. Imagery of portals, doors, gates and windows reference the paradoxes of time as it relates to their metaphorical and literal use.

Through the use of photography as well as materials and surfaces that fade, cure, or decay, I want to tap into the enchantment of evolution where tiny, incremental shifts or differences are noticed and enhanced. By this “slowing of time”, one might negotiate some of the uneasiness that comes with dwelling on the effects of time, providing a between-space for examination and wonder.

What is a border and what does it mean to cross one? A border is a space of passage that can be political, cultural, social, mental, emotional. Actual borders can be exciting or oppressive depending on where you are and who you are in the world. Symbolic borders can support or challenge ideas of comfort and familiarity. In the Borderspaces works I’m playing with how time and distance influence perception.

It’s in the pausing, the pairing and comparing, the choosing to look at and arrange things in specific and intentional ways that the recognition of time and potential, ways of thinking and being, open up new possibilities. Through these actions, I hope to access the potential of weaving disparate spaces together in a way that is active and mutable, that can demonstrate visually how spaces that are constructed to connect in
unexpected ways hold potential for unexpected outcomes.

Lisa Volta is a Philadelphia-based multi-media artist. She is interested in investigating interventions in between spaces, playing with the botanical and the structural, and exploring points of passage.

She received her BFA from Tyler School of Art in 1999 and is a current 2021 MFA candidate at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In the years between institutional education, Volta worked in retail and restaurants, got married, studied herbal medicine, became a mother, started her own business, and worked as a teaching artist for several Philadelphia area non-profits including Al-Bustan, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership.

Her work as an artist over the years has evolved in tandem with these experiences that have challenged and shifted her understanding of how and why she makes work. Whether it’s incorporating medicinal plants into her content or experimenting with a variety of materials and mediums, her focus is increasingly about the process of moving and discovering as artworks unfold and enfold. This understanding has led her to believe that education should never be seen as a means to an end. There is no end to the learning and exploring. She considers herself an eternal student.