The Alva Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Constructed Cosmologies, a solo show of sculptures and works on paper by Ana Flores, on Saturday, March 16 from 5 to 8pm. The exhibition will continue through April 27th.

Flores was born in Cuba. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and currently lives in Wood River Junction, RI and in Nova Scotia, Canada. The "cosmologies" which Flores has constructed reference her life by the water. Many of the sculptures are comprised of metal scraps from discarded lobster pots, pieces of driftwood, stone, string and whatever other flotsam and jetsam Flores finds during walks on the beach. Within the dominant circular constructs are small terra-cotta figures going about their habits of daily life. These compositions rest on post and beam bases with a cement slab; the architectural vocabulary of agriculture, of barns and landscapes once full of timber. Other works cradle the figures in scraps collected from the land, such as moss and twigs. Flores describes her work as reflecting the "stretch between these two gravitational pulls; the water and its expansive horizons and the earth's chthonic tug."

Constructed Cosmologies focuses our attention on the traditional ways of living with and from the water and the land. However, the traditions represented in these sculptures are quickly disappearing and the intimate relationship between man and nature is rapidly diminishing. These works beg the question of where we will find our inspiration and our sustenance in the future.

Constructed Cosmologies will be on view during regular gallery hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 11-5pm through April 27th. ALVA Gallery is located at 311 State Street, New London. For further information, call 860-437-8664.