Collage Artist Meikel Church Brings Latest Collection to ASC
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This detail is of The Boy Who Wasn’t Afraid, one of Meikel Church’s collage works that will be on display in his solo exhibition Was It Ever Real?, opening March 3 at ASC.
Was It Ever Real? Opens March 3 with Reception
Meikel Church
To view Meikel Church’s artwork is to step into a surreal world — populated by people who may look like they’ve been transported out of a mid-century TV show, or are forgotten distant relatives from old family photos.
“Meikel Church’s collages feel like memories or dreams, set in an indeterminate time and place where characters often wander alone,” said ASC Curator Jessica Lenehan.
“Church repurposes images from vintage magazines to make his collages, recontextualizing them into imaginative scenes,” Lenehan continued. “The past as it exists within these surreal narratives is shaped by our interpretation, in the same way our version of the past is determined by our perception of it. The layered backgrounds bring to mind quilts assembled from scraps, the kind cobbled together and handed down in the same way histories are passed and shared.”
An exhibition of Church’s collages is coming soon to The Arts & Science Center. Was It Ever Real? opens Thursday, March 3, 2022, in the Ben J. Altheimer Gallery.
ASC will host a joint artists’ reception 5-7 p.m. March 3 to showcase Was It Ever Real? and Carl E. Moore’s PAUSE. People, Places, and Scenes. Both artists will be on site to answer questions and chat with visitors.
Meikel Church, Beating Like a Heart
Church’s collection was inspired by the lyrics of the song “Joey” by Samantha Crain, Church said.
“… I know it’s different but we’ll figure it out
Sometimes I feel like my memories never happened
Could you remind me, take me back for a night? Was it ever real? …”
Church explained that the theme of this collection is, “the past as it was as it happened, as we see it today, and how it will look in the future before it fades away.”
Before collage, Church’s primary artistic outlet was creative writing.
“I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2013 and started looking for a new way to express myself, and to tell my story,” he said. Church quickly became addicted to the absurdity of taking found images, mostly from old books and magazines, and rethinking the pre-existing image in another context.
“When I first started creating collage I would say that I sought refuge in the images, but now it’s a deeper connection to the very paper an image is printed on,” Church said.
Storytelling is something that he continues to strive for in his collage work, he said.
One of Meikel Church’s works was selected for the cover of 2019’s Unmanly Grief, a collection of poems by Jess Williard, from the University of Arkansas Press and a finalist for the 2019 Miller Williams Poetry Prize.
“Collage, for me, is about change: Taking an image, removing it from its surroundings, placing it somewhere new, and reimagining its context, and meaning.”
Since 2014, the Conway native and North Little Rock resident has shown his pieces in numerous group and solo exhibitions.
“I have been fortunate to have exhibited my work all over the world. In 2014, I was one of 51 artists invited to participate in the second annual Colligastis Festival in Greece,” he said.
He has also been part of group shows in Dallas; Portland, Oregon; New York; Boston; and Miami.
Those in Arkansas might have seen Church’s solo shows including 2021’s Without at the River Valley Art Center in Russellville; 2020’s The Whisper Kingdom and 2018’s Winter Heart, both at the Argenta Branch Library in North Little Rock; 2017’s Deconstructing Dreams at the Batesville Area Arts Council; and 2016’s Succinct at the Thea Foundation in North Little Rock.
Church’s artwork has also been appreciated by writers and musicians. One of his works was selected for the cover of 2019’s Unmanly Grief, a collection of poems by Jess Williard, from the University of Arkansas Press and a finalist for the 2019 Miller Williams Poetry Prize.
Meikel Church’s collages have also been selected for album covers for acts including (from left) Tennessee duo November South (Daughter, 2021), Scottish performer Vulin (Tethered to Sleep, 2020), and the Natural State’s Arkansasauce (If I Were You, 2017).
His collages have also been selected for album covers for acts including Tennessee duo November South (Daughter, 2021), Scottish performer Vulin (Tethered to Sleep, 2020), and the Natural State’s Arkansasauce (If I Were You, 2017).
“I love doing artwork for music albums,” Church said.
Meikel Church Borrowed Time.
The works in Was It Ever Real? were all created from 2020 to 2022. One of the pieces, Borrowed Time, depicts a young man wearing a mask.
“I had an idea of something pieced together with different elements then covered up with a mask,” Church explained. “Masks have become a part of our new normal.”
One of his favorite works is also in Was It Ever Real?.
Meikel Church, The Dandelion Prince
“The Dandelion Prince is one of my favorite collage pieces ever. I started playing around with layering backgrounds, then incorporated pencil shadows. I love how simple and minimal this piece is. I think it represents who I am as an artist.”
Was It Ever Real? will be on display at ASC through Saturday, June 4, 2022. The exhibition is sponsored by Relyance Bank.
For more information about Church and to view more of his work, visit his website meikelchurchcollage.com and follow him on Instagram at @meikelchurchcollage.
