Art Exhibition “Home and Away” debuted at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro –

Local artists Jane Cheek and Caitlin Cary debuted their new art exhibition “Home and Away” on Friday, Oct. 11 at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. 

“Home and Away” is one of a few galleries now open to the public at The ArtsCenter, including about 15 new works spanning the walls of a gallery space. The works alternate between Cheek’s colorful, saturated paintings of houses and Cary’s abstract depictions of buildings in the Triangle area and other regional locations, with the exhibition’s title as the thematic throughline connecting each artwork. 

In her painted textile works, Cheek’s houses are each set against a plain, neon background. The structures feature sharp angles and crisp lines, and every wall is in bright technicolor. The house windows are made of holographic cardstock, which allows viewers to see themselves in the pieces.

Cheek was born in Winston-Salem and focuses on paintings, sculptures and textiles. She has successfully mounted many solo and collaborative installations, including for Artsplosure, Downtown Raleigh Alliance and IBMA Bluegrass Live! — an international bluegrass festival in Raleigh. Cheek and Cary met while working at Art Space, an art center in Raleigh. 

Cheek explores the concept of home by emulating elements of her own life in her artwork.

“I live in a mid-century modern neighborhood, so these [the “Home and Away” art pieces] were all inspired by my neighbors’ houses, or houses I’ve lived in,” she said.

To create the art pieces for “Home and Away,” Cheek first handcrafted amoeba-shaped panels out of plywood. She then arranged painted strips of fabric in the shapes of houses on the panel. These houses are set against the brightly colored background that is distinct in her work. 

For Cary’s pieces, she constructed abstract images of urban buildings out of sewn fabric. She utilized a more muted color palette, compared to Cheek’s vibrant houses. The lines of these images are blurred, leaving the finer details of each structure to the viewer’s imagination. 

Cary is a textile artist based in Raleigh, crafting almost exclusively from repurposed materials. Her work often depicts North Carolina’s history through physical structures.