To artist Martha Russo, navigating disruptions through her art is a lifelong pursuit. Whether it’s trying to capture the fear of those dying of COVID-19 or working through the grief of her injuries, Russo’s “caesura” exhibit seeks not only to capture the tenuous and fragile nature of life, but to celebrate it.

On Thursday, Russo and her colleagues hosted the opening reception for “caesura,” which will be on exhibit at Ent Center for the Arts’ Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery until Dec. 2.

Russo was a pre-med student vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic field hockey team when she suffered a life-changing knee injury. To keep herself busy after her life had been razed, Russo took ceramic classes.

“Not only did I not go to the Olympics, but the Olympic doctor and my other orthopedic doctor said, ‘You’re going to keep hurting it. Your anatomy is just not built for this,’” Russo said. “They kind of said that I should really stop running team sports. I was devastated. That was my whole life. I wasn’t studying art at that point, and I took up ceramic classes because I needed something to do and somewhere to put my energy.”

Martha Russo’s “caesura” will be at the Ent Center for the Arts starting Thursday and running through Dec. 2

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In 1983, Russo studied studio arts in Florence, Italy, and continued these studies back at her alma mater, Princeton University. She earned her MFA at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she now is an instructor. Although her work has been exhibited all over the country in places such as the Santa Fe Art Institute and the Allan Stone Gallery, “caesura” will be the first time these works will be organized alongside each other.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen all the work together,” Russo said. “It’s called ‘pensum.’ It’s a grouping of acrylic forms that were inspired by thinking about the central core where my work comes from, which is really my gut, and sort of just being aware of what’s happening and reacting more than, ‘Here’s what the (piece) is going to be about.’ Most of my work is pretty much following myself around and paying attention to how the materials work and flow and disrupt and break.”

One of the pieces featured in the exhibit is called “chute,” which according to Russo, is a “tongue-in-cheek” display of what it’s like to get older. The piece is a large funnel with body parts going down it, a musing on old injuries and even new ones that still plague Russo.

“A lot of the work is about the tenuous nature of everything,” Russo said. “It’s OK when things decay or are decrepit because there is always something new that comes out of that.”

Injuries, disruptions and pauses are an unavoidable part of life, but to Russo they’re far more than that. These interruptions serve not only her ability to reframe them as gifts in her mind, but also as artistic manifestations to remind others that none of us are immune to these pauses. Although she never quite made it to the Olympics, Russo flourished in her art career and continues to do so alongside teams of dedicated artists who have worked to bring exhibits like “caesura” to life.

“I have to stay in really good shape to do my work,” Russo said. “And I have an incredible team of people to help me make it. It’s not that much different than being on an athletic team, you know. There’s a lot of trust, and you have to keep each other going.”