Sleight of hand
a: a cleverly executed trick or deception
b: a conjuring trick requiring manual dexterity
Sleight of Hand brings together eleven works by six contemporary artists in the United States (US) who create humorous, quirky, or anthropomorphized objects in clay, centered around complex issues of race, gender, and immigration status, among other pressing social and political realities of our day. For these artists, humor is not merely an aesthetic choice; it is also a tool of resistance, resilience, and healing. The deliberate use of humor in ceramics traces back to the 1950s and 1960s Bay Area Funk art. However, in recent years, a younger and far more diverse generation of artists has revitalized this artistic strategy. This exhibition highlights this critical shift in the field of ceramics through the lens of artists of color. While the exhibition focuses on clay, the objects on display point to an expanded field that moves beyond sculpture to include video and paintings featuring ceramics.
As the exhibition title suggests, the exhibiting artists use their hands to produce visual illusions out of clay that, while cheery on the surface, can carry serious undertones. Humor is inherently deceptive, often the result of an exaggerated truth or a cunning trick that lends levity and clarity to subjects that are taboo or otherwise difficult to discuss. Strategies of irreverence, irony, absurdity, and cuteness are employed in Sleight of Hand to subversively establish accessible platforms for dialogue and engagement with profound and complicated narratives.
WHERE
Center for Craft, Bresler Family Gallery
ARTISTS
Diana Yesenia Alvarado
Natalia Arbelaez
Salvador Jiménez-Flores
Yvette Mayorga
Woody De Othello
Maryam Yousif
CURATED BY
Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy
EXHIBITION MANAGEMENT
Lauren Roquemore
GRAPHIC DESIGN BY
Kristi Pfeffer
Source link: https://www.centerforcraft.org/exhibition/sleight-of-hand