When We Build, Let Us Think That We Build Forever is a curated group show focused on the intersection of natural and manmade environments. Ranging from ecological experiments to meditations on the precariousness of our built environment, the exhibit presents a poetic view of the world that surrounds us and our effect on it. When We Build… features the work of primarily St. Louis-based artists, giving a local viewpoint and immediacy to the exhibit.

The exhibit brings together a broad base of St. Louis artists, from the internationally recognized work of Peter Marcus to the emerging work of Brea McAnally, BJ Vogt, Jessica Kiel-Wornson and Christine D’Epiro. Peter Marcus will contribute several pieces from his striking Horsehead series (provided by Bruno David Gallery) that focus on a single Victorian house “emblematic of an America-or, at least, the idea—of an America that has ceased to exist.” Brea, who also curated the exhibit, has created an interactive outdoor cityscape that invites viewers to add water to an adjacent dam that will, at some point in the evening, overflow and flood the city. The work is a ambivalent exploration of the role of man in natural disaster, inviting questions of implication and responsibility.

They are joined by Luminary Resident Artist Christine D’Epiro, who is transforming brown paper grocery bags into a room-sized installation depicting a nightscape.  Entitled Night, the exhibition responds to our present shared economic situation with imagery that represents both a conclusion and a cyclical occurrence. B.J. Vogt is also contributing sculptural pieces depicting ‘natural’ environments or settings using mass produced or easily replicated ‘man-made’ materials, such as cardboard, PVC pipes, plastic implements, lamps and other electrical devices.

The opening reception took place on Saturday, August 8th from 6-9pm and will remain on view on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2-7pm and on Saturdays from 12-5pm through the end of September.