CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Some Assembly Required: race, gender and globalization
May 23 , 2010 – September 12, 2010

Curated by Shelby Graham

The world has been declared “flat” by pundits, politicians and corporate executives, but what lies beneath the glossy, one-dimensional globalization story we see in the mass stream media? How are the intensely personal issues of race and gender complicated by a “flat world”?

Some Assembly Required: race, gender and globalization explores the impact of globalization on personal identity. Featuring thoughtful and eye-popping works of seventeen diverse artists who demonstrate their unique perspectives using the medium of assemblage, this provocative exhibition is sure to start a conversation. By combining found or discarded items, man-made or natural materials, personal or generic objects, these artists strive to assemble an identity that incorporates the multi-layered aspects of self in the 21st century. Each artwork weaves together not only different materials but also diverse perspectives influenced by culture, race, gender, and religion. The assemblages communicate intensely personal and artistic responses to the impact of globalization on life and self.

The exhibition originated in 2009 at the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at the University of California Santa Cruz

Read the Some Assembly Required press release, HERE.

SALVAGED: Aaron Kramer and the Secret Life of Objects

May 23 , 2010 – September 12, 2010

If artist Aaron Kramer could have it his way, there would be no waste! “Trash is the failure of imagination,” is his philosophy while he embraces commonly discarded objects as his inspiration. Opening on May 23, SALVAGED, Aaron Kramer’s first solo museum exhibition, offers a peek into the mind of this full time artist, and part time alchemist.  

Equal parts designer, artist, and inventor, Aaron has been redefining junk since his early childhood in Chicago. On a mission to rethink and reclaim literally thousands of objects he sees discarded, Aaron is simply in awe of things’ hidden potential. When designing his creations, he is fascinated not only by the outward appearance, but the unexpected origin of the materials. ‘While I use nontraditional materials, my work is still rooted in a Fine Craft tradition. I sometimes like to think of it as “extreme basket making,”’ he adds jovially when pressed about his apparent connection to his materials.

Read the SALVAGED press release, HERE.

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