"The most memorable exhibitions this year made a mess, rejecting pristine gallery walls in favor of fish skin, plastic bags, and lived-in spaces like a mall corridor and a home garage. Artists viewed art itself as inhabitable-Ginny Sims turned walls into spaces for dimensional scenes, and Lydia Rosenberg's experimental lamps gave Society a chaotic, yet domestic feel. Many of these art projects served as community builders, too, building subtle connections through gestures"
"In spring, Nationale brought Minneapolis clay artist Ginny Sims to its main gallery space with a solo exhibition, Postcards from the Night, that elevated dreamy, abstracted kitchen ceramics far beyond their everyday use. A tidy row of Staffordshire-inspired pitchers (Sims apprenticed at an England pottery) found its home alongside candlestick holders, egg cups, and mugs underglazed with suggestions of landscapes."
Exhibitions favored messy, lived-in installations using materials like fish skin and plastic bags and occupied unconventional spaces such as mall corridors and garages. Artists designed works to be inhabitable, turning walls into dimensional scenes and creating chaotic but domestic environments with experimental lamps. Several projects prioritized community engagement through small gestures and long-running programs that connected audiences. The season featured many first shows, debuts, and idiosyncratic venues, signaling a renewed appetite for risk and experimentation. Galleries and alternative spaces foregrounded ceramics, sculptural maquettes, site-specific installations, and socially oriented programming that energized the local art scene.
Read at Portland Mercury
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]