Many of us are turning to art during this time of increased isolation. In a series of new shadowbox collages, Mark Hutker reinterprets treasures gathered from the beach near his home in Falmouth.

The formal qualities of each element are made more plain in their new context. Delight in the glorious symmetry of nature – examine and accept the imperfections of debris, with organic texture adding relief and balance to the former. Look long enough, and topographic – even anthropomorphic – narratives might emerge from the way the forms play with each other and with the negative spaces between them.

Look longer, still…

How do the new compositions make certain elements more pronounced?
How does repetition, space, and variation affect you? What balance pleases you?
How can we turn tarnish and broken edges into something beautiful?

While the artist may not have intended for his beach objects to serve as parables, indulge us in this suggestion: try and look for the possibility and power of seeing things through the filtering lens of new arrangement.