The current exhibit at Laity Lodge’s Cody Center was born out of a friendship between two artists. After several years of admiring the work of Lanecia Rouse (Richmond, VA) and David Chang (New York, NY), the Lodge team was thrilled when both artists accepted the invitation to take up short-term residence in the Canyon, where they would have space, time, and resources to create together.
The works on display at the Cody Center are a manifestation of their studio conversations, of finding ways to celebrate each other’s unique imprint. Rouse and Chang use different mediums—collage and calligraphy—but find harmony through the layering of words, photographs, torn paper, and painterly abstraction.
Each piece is a kind of improv: a playful call-and-response dance, the kind of kinetic generativity present when more than one person has their hand on the medium. Yet while some of the works in the show are loose and gestural, others—like a massive Ephesians 3 scroll—obtain immense gravity.
Together, Chang and Rouse have created a space to think about memory, the interior life, vulnerability, ruptures in relationship, healing, and dreams. “Lines Between Us” is available for viewing at Laity Lodge retreats until the end of 2025.
DAVID CHANG is a Korean American artist exploring the intersection of calligraphy and abstraction. Rooted in the meditative traditions of Chinese calligraphy, his work channels presence and spontaneity through gestural mark-making. His work has appeared in numerous shows and institutions. His calligraphy was prominently featured in the internationally acclaimed film mother! (2017).
LANECIA A. ROUSE is a versatile artist based in both Richmond, Virginia, and Houston, Texas, with a portfolio that encompasses collage, abstract painting, photography, and curatorial projects. Lanecia’s work was recently featured in Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage, which debuted at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, before traveling to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.
