Artist Talk: Ramekon O'Arwisters at the Figge Art Museum -- February 22.
Thursday, February 22, 6:30 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Held in conjunction with the venue's current exhibition Tradition Interrupted, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will host a February 22 Artist Talk with renowned Bay area-based social-practice artist Ramekon O'Arwisters, who will share thoughts about his artistic practice as well as his involvement with the popular exhibition.
As the artist states at his Ramekon.com Web site, "Making larger sculpture using shards—discarded, thrown-out, dangerous, deadly, razor-sharp, jagged, abandoned, eternal, worthless, marginalized, hard, unsympathetic—represent my anxiety, anger, fear, bitterness, and hopelessness associated with the permanence of White-body supremacy. Growing up in Jim Crow South during the Civil Rights Movement, I had a safe haven quilting with my grandmother, where I was embraced, important, and special. These early memories prompted my nascent series of unique crocheted, ceramic sculptures, 'Mending.' Employing ordinary household or decorative pottery, broken and discarded, I combined traditional crafts into a dimensional woven tapestry, stripping both cloth and ceramic of their intended function."
In his series of sculptures titled Cheesecake, O'Arwisters continues, "The works have transformed from something broken, needing mending to fully determined and self-aware. Being Black and Queer, the full complexity of the moniker Cheesecake, used to objectify an attractive, sexualized man or woman, is not lost to me. Instead I embrace it, subverting the demeaning implication in describing my sculpture. Combining lacy, embellished fabrics with ceramics contributed by students and faculty from California State University at Long Beach, my sculptural hybrids embody both danger and seduction.
"I am the founder of Crochet Jam, a community-arts project infused with folk-art traditions that foster a creative culture in cooperative relationships. Born in Kernersville, North Carolina, I am earned a M.Div. from Duke University Divinity School in 1986. I was an artist-in-residence at the de Young Museum, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. Grants and Awards include Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue, NY, the San Francisco Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Program. I received the 2014 Eureka Fellow, awarded by the Fleishhacker Foundation in San Francisco and a Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2021. My work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, 7×7 Magazine, Artnet, the San Francisco Examiner, and Brian Boucher’s Daily Dispatch."
Featuring a fascinating selection of 23 artworks created by 12 artists from around the world, Tradition Interrupted boasts works by creative talents who firmly believe that everyday objects have the power to evoke memories and inspire emotions. “This exhibition is a testament to the power of art in transcending boundaries and reshaping our understanding of tradition,” said Figge Executive Director & CEO Michelle Hargrave. “The intricate narratives woven into each piece will create a thought-provoking experience for visitors of all ages.”
The Artist Talk with Ramekon O'Arwisters will take place on February 22, participation in the 6:30 p.m. event is free, and Tradition Interrupted will be on display through March 31. For more information, call (563)326-7804 and visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
