THE HYDE COLLECTION CUSP
YOUNG
BRIAN DICKERSON MILLICENT
MELINDA STICKNEY-GIBSON
Published by JEN DRAGON in conjunction with the exhibition CUSP, on view at THE HYDE COLLECTION , Glens Falls, New York, January 25 – March 30, 2025.
COVER: top left detail, BRIAN DICKERSON , SPARROW; top right detail, MILLICENT YOUNG , SUTRA FOR BELONGING; bottom detail, MELINDA STICKNEY-GIBSON , SECRET: BLONDE MYTHS
THE HYDE COLLECTION CUSP
YOUNG
BRIAN DICKERSO N MILLICENT
MELINDA STICKNEY-GIBSON
THE HYDE COLLECTION CUSP
BRIAN DICKERSON MILLICENT YOUNG
MELINDA STICKNEY-GIBSON
ESSAY BY JEN DRAGON, EXHIBITION CURATOR
The exhibition Cusp presents three contemporary artists who work in the realm between the known and the unknowable. The artworks are in flux as paintings transform into sculptures, works on paper evoke memories, and three-dimensional installations recite poetry. The artists never quite settle into any realm but exist in ambiguity within an ever-shifting environment.
Brian Dickerson’s paintings are structured from aggregated surfaces, rich with energetic brushwork that envelops his angular, constructed elements. With numerous raised edges that act as bridges, tunnels, and apertures, Dickerson’s paintings take on three-dimensional forms as silhouettes transform in the ambient light. The shadows cast by these constructions contribute to a shifting impermanence of unique experiences. At once ancient and contemporary, Dickerson’s sculpted paintings combine the solidity of matter with the inconstancy of light, forming interactions with the surrounding space.
Melinda Stickney-Gibson’s delicate drawings, paintings, and installations meditate on memory. Books, and more specifically pages, are containers for thoughts and dreams analogous to the relationship between the solid body and the intangible mind. Cryptic phrases, trembling lines, and blurred forms emerge through glowing layers of wax, paper, and paint, much as conscious thought morphs into spontaneous imagination before sleep. By drawing us into her personal world, Stickney-Gibson opens the door to a shared unconsciousness.
Millicent Young’s installations create contemplative spaces for reflecting on personal and collective loss. Drawing on humble materials, Young weaves, sculpts, and scribes metaphors drawn from ancient archetypes while sounding an alarm for a fragile future. Her artworks range from suspended sculptures with descending waves of illuminated horse hair to motion-activated sound sculptures reciting poetry. In Young’s work, nature is abstracted to its distilled essence, each artwork calling for the renewal of a broken world.
As visual poets, Dickerson, Stickney-Gibson, and Young capture the transformations from what is seen to what is felt. Each artist independently opens portals between a concrete and an intuitive world, inviting us to tolerate ambiguities and follow them through. Their contemplative artworks dwell on the edges of consciousness and, with simple and plain materials, evoke the metaphors of silent poetry.
BRIAN DICKERSO N
GORGE
GILBOA
MELINDA STICKNEY-GIBSON
MILLICENT YOUNG
THREE ORIGIN STORIES IN THE SIXTH EXTINCTION • HAIR, CERAMIC, CHARRED WOOD • 144 x 61 x 28" • 2023
installation detail • IN THE HYDE COLLECTION COURTYARD: THREE HUSKS ( above, CINNAMON HUSK ) • STEEL, HAIR, WOOD • DIMENSIONS VARIABLE • 2023
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Brian Dickerson creates works that are familiar yet mysterious. His work is influenced by the earth and its layers of sediment, as well as specific geographic locations that are deeply personal — the area around Ballycastle, Ireland, and his hometown in the Schoharie Valley in upstate New York. One does not need to be familiar with these locations but rather understand the emotional resonance and the idea of place. Assertive and decisive in composition, Dickerson’s paintings act as altarpieces that lead the mind to contemplation.
Melinda Stickney-Gibson’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures involve a diaristic, distinctly personal, and often graphic approach. She incorporates succinct phrases from her private journals and resonating fragments from other writers. Simple words such as “yes,” “maybe,” “no?” and “her” inscribed in her artwork echo the mind’s dialogue with the self. Sculptural work using wire, steel, and glass continues the diaristic practice of personal mark-making and sense of place.
Millicent Young is a studio artist focusing on sculpture, installation, and projects merging sound, poetry, and movement. Young’s study of visual art, craft, music, and poetry in the museums and streets of the city formed the foundation of her broad art education. Cross-cultural childhood experiences, witnessing the impacts of poverty, the diversity of her family background, and her immersion in rural lifeways and wilderness have been formative influences on Millicent Young’s artworks.
The curator would like to thank the administration and staff of The Hyde Collection; catalogue designer, Susanna Ronner; and the artists, Brian Dickerson, Melinda Stickney-Gibson, and Millicent Young ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: