Clockwise: Mark Newport, detail, Batman 2, 2005, acrylic yarn and buttons , Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Photo by Gene Young; Mary Van Cline, Cycles of Relationship of Time, 2000, photosensitive glass, pâte de verre, and bronze patina, Private collection, Photo by Rob Vinnedge; Christyl Boger, Waterwings, 2007, glazed white earthenware with gold luster, Courtesy of Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, Photo by Gene Young; SunKoo Yuh, Can You Hear Me?, 2007, glazed porcelain, Collection of the artist, Photo by Gene Young
Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009 runs until January 3, 2010. Nicholas Bell, curator at the Renwick Gallery, introduces us to the art and artists now on exhibition.
What comes to mind when you hear the word 'craft'? Many think of handmade objects sized for use—vessels, chairs, baskets, and other things that serve various functions. For the artists represented in Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009, craft media such as glass, clay, and fiber offer a new range of expressive possibility. Christyl Boger, Mark Newport, Mary Van Cline, and SunKoo Yuh create theatrically inspired work that incorporates complex narratives and other dramatic elements. Prepare for your conception of craft to be demolished.
Boger makes Meissen-like ceramic people, too big to be kitsch, too small to be human. Poised between worlds, they clutch earthenware flotation devices, as if hoping for rescue from this awkward stage. Newport knits life-size superhero costumes—Batman, Rawhide Kid, and of course, Sweaterman—objects that aim to protect the wearer but stop little more than the cold. In an accompanying video and prints, the artist furiously takes on the next stitch, and the next, realizing that, “if he could just complete this, he could help.”
Van Cline uses an old Hasselblad camera to capture actors in natural settings. She then encapsulates these scenes in glass, giving them a depth and power that draws you in to their timeless world. Yuh draws on Korean folk tales, contemporary politics, and personal history to build stacks of porcelain figures and animals—totems telling several stories at once. Up to forty glazes run wild over each piece, offering each narrative a psychedelic edge.
Such tactile works make it hard to resist touching. Stop by the Interactive Gallery on your way out to handle a piece by each artist. There you can also add a few stitches of your own to a Newport project at the Sit ‘n’ Knit station. You too can help.
