Text: The Art of Language
The Pearl Ellis Gallery presents Text: The Art of Language from September 16 to October 11, 2025. This exhibition explores the powerful role that text plays in communication, expression, and meaning-making within the visual arts.
The public is warmly invited to meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments at the opening reception on Saturday, September 20, from 1–3 pm.
Text, in its many forms, serves as a bridge between the visual and the verbal. It can tell stories, convey ideas, or function as a graphic element that adds depth and complexity to an artwork. In this show, artists have taken up the challenge of integrating words and symbols into their creations, inviting viewers to consider how language shapes the way we see and interpret art.
The exhibition features a diverse range of mediums—including painting, photography, collage, glass, and mixed media—each offering a unique perspective on how text can be used as both image and message. Some works use language as their central subject, while others allow words to whisper quietly beneath the surface. Together, they demonstrate the versatility of text as a creative tool.
About her piece So Many Ways, Karen Segee says: “This theme got me thinking about all the ways we communicate—not just with words, but through gestures, empathy, and symbols. I began collaging with a box of old letters from my mother, reflecting on how much love and kindness she expressed without words. Though the forms, marks, and colours have covered much of the text, their meaning still survives in the history of the painting.”
