Olivia Baldwin and Ashley Pelletier Elevate the Abstract in Fall River Exhibition
Mixed media work by Olivia Baldwin and a painting by Ashley Pelletier at Narrows Center for the Arts. Photo courtesy of Olivia Baldwin.
Abstraction is so thoroughly ingrained in today’s art making experience that it is sometimes taken for granted. In a new show at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts, two artists are sharing process-driven takes on non-objective work that will excite artists and enthusiasts alike. Olivia Baldwin and Ashley Pelletier’s exhibition Summer Cut is on view from May 31 - July 19, 2025 and promises to give audiences a new appreciation for abstraction.
A show at the Narrows offers these two Rhode Island artists the opportunity to share their work with neighbors in nearby Southeastern Massachusetts, creating new connections across the region. Speaking about the space, Pelletier says, “The Narrows is a great organization with a beautiful exhibition space. It's a privilege to see my work in this context alongside Olivia’s.” Baldwin is similarly effusive of her co-exhibitor, saying, “I followed Ashley's work for several years before even meeting her, and it's hugely generative to show alongside an artist engaged in parallel investigations into color, shape, and form.”
Olivia Baldwin, A Long Lead, 2025, scrap leather and suede, upholstery tacks, brads, acrylic, dog leash, 38 x 30 inches. Photo by Elizabeth Ellenwood. Courtesy of the artist.
The exhibition features paintings by Pelletier paired with mixed media works by Baldwin. The combination offers abstract canvases with illusionistic elements alongside fiber-based pieces that blur the line between two and three dimensions. Abstraction is explored in terms of qualities like texture, color, as well as space, whether it be real or imagined. The exhibition reinvigorates non-objective modes of making.
Olivia Baldwin earned her MFA from the University of Connecticut and teaches Studio Art at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She also organizes exhibitions at the Kniznick Gallery at Brandeis University. Based in Providence, she has exhibited nationally and internationally, earning residencies and awards from places like the Vermont Studio Center, the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Mass MoCA along the way.
Ashley Pelletier earned a BFA from Rhode Island College and an MFA from MassArt. A recipient of the Rhode Island State Council on the Art’s competitive Make Art Grant, she teaches at Brandeis University, MassArt, and Community College of Rhode Island. Recent exhibitions have featured her work at AS220, Bristol Art Museum, Warwick Center for the Arts, and RISD’s Woods-Gerry Gallery, among others.
For Pelletier, color is often key. Explaining the role it plays in her process, she says, “Color is one of the driving forces in my work, acting as both an emotional catalyst and a formal device. In the studio, I play with color through the physical act of mixing paint and composing palettes. In the finished paintings, I aim for color to tease, provoke, and play with the viewer.”
An overlapping feature in the show, color is also an important part of Baldwin’s artmaking and she finds fascinating tonal pairings in her inventive medium of reclaimed materials. Of that element of her practice, the artist explains, “I’m interested in the stories that materials and objects carry, where they came from, and whose hands or generations they have passed through. This curiosity, combined with a tendency toward scrappiness and an interest in making more sustainably–I have far to go–has led me to incorporate found and repurposed materials in my work. This particular body of work began with a few small bins of my mother's leather and expanded when Lindquist donated a generous quantity of scraps to my studio.”
Ashley Pelletier, Strange Delight, 2025, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.
In artworks that explore a spectrum of media and methods of construction, Baldwin and Pelletier create a nuanced experience of contemporary abstraction. Undergirding processes and a fine attention to detail from both artists result in a conversational show that encourages visitors to probe connections and explore overlaps. The result is an exhibition that powerfully celebrates two visionary artists in the region through the language of abstraction.
Summer Cut, featuring Olivia Baldwin and Ashley Pelletier is on view at the Narrows Center for the Arts at 16 Anawan Street in Fall River, Massachusetts from May 31 - July 19, 2025. The opening reception for the exhibition is May 31 from 1-3pm, and the artists will give a gallery tour June 21 from 10am - 12pm. For more information on the exhibition, go to https://www.narrowscenter.org/summer-cut/
Learn more about Olivia Baldwin at www.livbaldwin.com. Learn more about Ashley Pelletier at www.ashleypelletier.com.
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