Collection: MindSafe Exhibition

Bitfactory Gallery presents a powerful exhibition about

post-traumatic recovery by A.L. Lummus and Ira Sherman

MINDSAFE

September 19 – October 11, 2025

Bitfactory Gallery is honored to welcome back artist A.L. Lummus and the renowned Ira Sherman for a compelling two-person show, that explores the layered process of post-traumatic recovery. MINDSAFE, curated by gallerist Bill Thomason, features Lummus’ kinetic portraiture and Sherman’s intricately engineered metalworks, bringing together two distinct but harmonized voices—a multidisciplinary conversation between wood, metal, movement, and survival. The public is invited to experience this exhibition from Sept 19 – Oct 11, 2025, during regular gallery hours as listed below and during the following special events:

Opening Reception: September 19, 6-9 p.m.

First Friday Artwalk: October 3, 6-9 p.m.

Artist talk and demonstrations: TBA - offering attendees a deeper look into the collaborative process and the social context behind the work.

Lummus, a portrait artist and kinetic sculptor, presents a series of 2D and 3D works on canvas and pinewood. Each piece gives physical form to the emotional stages of recovery, created in dialogue with survivors and informed by a custom-designed recovery questionnaire. These are not just portraits; they are tactile stories of transformation.

In tandem, acclaimed metalsmith Sherman unveils a suite of pneumatically powered helmets and headdresses. His engineered sculptures, built with mechanical precision and artistic force, reference the emotional architecture of trauma, empowerment and protection. As functional as they are symbolic, each is crafted to physically deter unwanted intrusions into both body and mind. His masterful employment of intricate metalsmithing techniques—hot-forged steel and bronze, welded and formed steel and brass, delicate hammered textures, fold-formed red-hot steel, and jewelers’ techniques—deserve close examination. The works complement Lummus' personal and politically charged works in both scale and message.

Through the beauty, humor, and enigmatic narratives of their art, this exhibition aims to be a catalyst in dissolving the stigma of sexual assault and other trauma. By fostering deep connections and opening crucial dialogue, they offer hope for recovery to fellow survivors.

“This show is the result of constant conversation,” says Lummus. “Sherman and I have been building this body of work side-by-side, trading insight and criticism, concept and material. MINDSAFE is both our collective offering and a shared invocation of healing.”

Lummus works as a full-time artist in Denver, Colorado. Her metaphor-heavy imagery and commission pieces showcase an innovative style, strength in realism, and stark compositions. Her use of a limited color palette forces the viewer into an authentic response to the image itself, rather than the color.

Sherman’s sculptures are held in numerous private and public collections including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C., the National Ornamental Museum, Memphis, TN, the Regional Transportation District, Denver, CO, and Temple Sinai, CO. Sherman has appeared on PBS, the Discovery Channel, as well as podcasts, radio, and TV, and has been featured in publications that include the Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronical, The Atlantic, and Popular Mechanics. He has lectured and taught metalworking across the US, the United Kingdom, and Israel.