CURRENT SHOW

FISSURES AND THAT WHICH BINDS

An exhibition from Dirtbag Artist in Residence Sarah Johnson

RECEPTION:

Tooth & Nail Studio & Gallery — 306

Friday, October 9

5–8 PM

Join us Friday, October 9 from 5–8 PM at Tooth & Nail Studio & Gallery for the closing reception of our latest Dirtbag Residency, featuring new work by Milwaukee-based interdisciplinary artist Sarah Johnson.

Over the past three months, Sarah has used the residency to place an idea under the microscope—pushing the techniques and questions that emerged from their BFA capstone into new territory.

Working with nerikomi, Sarah folds, cuts, mirrors, and layers colored clay slabs to create intricate surfaces informed by biological structures and natural bilateral symmetry. After firing, embroidery fiber binds the fissures within these fragile ceramic forms, allowing them to bend, separate, and be reconfigured. The result is a body of work that explores the tension between structure and flexibility, fracture and connection, precision and transformation.

Come see the work in person, meet Sarah, and celebrate the close of their three-month residency with us.

Sarah on the work:

“Throughout this three month residency, I have been given the space opportunity to place an idea under the microscope and allow it to take root. This small body of work explores Nerikomi tiles through folding, cutting, and mirroring marbled colored clay slabs to create images informed by biological structures and natural bilateral symmetry. Post-firing, I bound the fissures within these slabs using embroidery fiber, creating a physical and conceptual flexibility which allows the forms to be bent, disassembled, and reconfigured in different ways. This modularity and mixed-media approach allows me to challenge the structural limits of the forms while maintaining an intentional focus on the minute finish of each element.”