Jasper Arts to showcase Christina Zimmer Robinson sculpture exhibit this summer

Jasper Arts will open Christina Zimmer Robinson’s mixed-media sculpture exhibit, You Contain Everything, on Thursday at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, giving downtown Jasper a free summer arts stop from June 4 through Aug. 23.

The opening reception and gallery talk are scheduled for Thursday, June 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. Jasper Arts also has additional gallery receptions planned for July 2 and Aug. 6, both from 5 to 7 p.m. The galleries are open free to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., with donations appreciated. School groups, clubs and students are welcome.

Robinson, who was born and raised in Evansville, builds her work around identity, resilience, adaptation and the way people make sense of their own histories. She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a degree in sociology and psychology, lived in Louisville from 2006 to 2015 and, according to her own website, now lives in Evansville with her husband and son. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science.

Her background reflects a broad path into the arts. Evansville Living reported that she also pursued a biology degree at IU Southeast in New Albany and that a portrait opportunity at Louisville’s PYRO Gallery helped push her toward art full time. That mix of social science, life science and studio practice fits the layered approach in You Contain Everything, which uses multiple eyes, faces and sculptural forms to explore growth, perception and the process of collecting and distilling information about ourselves and other people.

For Jasper, the exhibit is part of a larger effort to keep the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center active as a downtown destination. Jasper Arts says the building houses its galleries, studios, workshops and community spaces at 100 3rd Ave. in Jasper, and Visit Dubois County describes the center as home to the Jasper Public Library and three art galleries. That setup gives the city a compact cultural hub where a summer exhibit can pull in families, weekend visitors and school groups without leaving the heart of town.

The show also gives Jasper Arts a fresh anchor for the summer calendar at a time when downtown activity matters to the wider quality-of-life picture in Dubois County. With rotating gallery programming, a visible central location and free admission, Robinson’s exhibit is positioned to be more than a one-day stop: it is a season-long draw that can bring people back to the center of Jasper more than once.