Shape/ Play is an exploration of serious play as a generative force in creative practice. The digital paintings in this exhibition are created in Photoshop through an intuitive, open-ended process that begins without sketches, plans, or predetermined outcomes. Each work develops through experimentation with shape, color, and composition, allowing visual relationships to emerge organically. By resisting preconceived ideas, I make space for curiosity, surprise, and discovery to guide the work forward.

This emphasis on process is made visible through two projected works housed within glass rooms in the gallery. These projections document my engagement with digital tools as I test, rearrange, layer, and discard forms in real time. The shifting compositions reveal decision-making as play and a rhythm of trial, adjustment, and responsiveness. Rather than presenting only the end product the projections foreground experimentation as a meaningful and productive state, where uncertainty becomes a catalyst rather than an obstacle.

At the center of the gallery, three large zoetropes translate this exploratory approach into physical form. As visitors rotate the discs, the illusions of animated shapes echo the visual language of the digital paintings while introducing time and optical perception. Nearby, a play table invites viewers to become participants, offering felt shapes for visitors to experiment with their own compositions. Together with the large, hand-cut, whimsical typography of the exhibition title anchoring the space, these elements encourage hands-on engagement and inquiry. Shape/ Play proposes that innovation and creativity do not emerge solely from control or mastery, but from a willingness to experiment, remain open, and play seriously.

Bethanie Irons is an artist, designer, and educator living in Columbia, MO. She holds a Ph.D. in Art Education from the University of Missouri, M.F.A. in Art from the University of Missouri, and B.F.A. in Art from the University of South Dakota.

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