Found Subjects: Works by Sondra Sherman
February 5 – May 8, 2016
Front Gallery
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
4848 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002Opening Reception
Friday, February 5, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The evening will also feature the opening of At Your Service in the Main Gallery, Mixed and Mastered: Turntable Kitsch in the Artist Hall, and open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists.Hours & Admission
Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM, and Sunday, 12 – 5 PM.
Closed Easter Sunday.
Admission is free.
(HOUSTON, TX) December 26, 2015 — Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is pleased to present Found Subjects, an exhibition of work by jeweler Sondra Sherman. In this body of work, Sherman creates unique brooches and necklaces prompted by the individual books she has collected over many years. Sherman cuts into the pages of each book, giving them new life as they house the jewelry they inspired.
Intrigued by the poetry of the titles and bindings of vintage books, Sherman built a personal library in her home. Though these texts occupied her shelves, they were never read and, ultimately, she started organizing her collection by color. Sherman writes in her artist statement, “Its ‘Pantone-ian’ organization was a late-night inspiration, as I observed the visual noise of the bookshelves might be quieted down if color order ruled over subject or title.” Sherman delighted in challenging visitors’ initial associations with the book covers through her method of cataloging, noticing that her visitors paid more attention to the titles arranged by color field.
The idea for Found Subjects came to Sherman as she was packing boxes of books for a final cross-country move. Like the organization of her own library, Found Subjects encourages viewers to use their imagination as they reflect on the relationship of the jewelry to the color, images, and title of the open book that frames it. In the exhibition, the books are presented on white-washed, plywood library-style lecterns, tailored to their individual sizes and haphazardly arranged in the space. Surprise narratives reveal themselves as one makes sense of the relationship between text and form. The pages become the viewers’ imagined stories, and the jewelry reflects their voices, giving each book a new life “off the shelf.”
About the Artist
Sondra Sherman is Associate Professor of Art and Head of Jewelry and Metalwork at San Diego State University in California. She received her MFA from the Academy of Fine Art in Munich, Germany, and her BFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania. She has been the recipient of many awards including the Rhode Island Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Emerging Artists Fellowship, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship, the Mid-Atlantic Regional National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, as well as a Fulbright Scholarship for Study Abroad. Sherman’s artwork is included in the following public collections: the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Racine Art Museum; the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery; the Rhode Island School of Design Museum; and the City Museum of Turnov, Czech Republic.
About Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is a nonprofit visual arts center dedicated to advancing education about the process, product and history of craft. HCCC provides exhibition, retail and studio spaces to support the work of local and national artists and serves as a resource for artists, educators and the community at large.
This year, HCCC is celebrating its quinceañera—15 years of educating people of all ages about the beauty and value of contemporary craft. The years since 2001 have seen the organization grow exponentially, with its Artist Residency Program now nationally regarded and its presentation of original exhibitions outstanding. HANDS-ON HOUSTON, a free, monthly, family craft activity has exploded from averaging 50 visitors to over 350 in the past four years. The Asher Gallery has some of the most unique gifts and home décor in Houston, and the Craft Garden offers visitors a chance to learn about plants used in craft making. HCCC has fully grown into its mission and offers visitors many great opportunities to enjoy and learn about craft.
Located in the Museum District at 4848 Main Street, HCCC is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM, and Sunday, 12 – 5 PM. Summer Hours: Closed Sundays, July 5th – Labor Day. Holidays: Closed Easter, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Also closed January 12 – 15, 2016, for repairs. Admission is free. Free parking is available directly behind the facility, off Rosedale and Travis Street. HCCC is three blocks south of Wheeler Ave. MetroRail station on Main Street.
HCCC is funded in part by grants from The Brown Foundation; Houston Endowment, Inc.; the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance; Texas Commission on the Arts; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Kinder Foundation; the Morgan Foundation; Windgate Charitable Foundation; and the Wortham Foundation. HCCC is a member of the Houston Museum District and the Midtown Arts District.
For more information, call 713-529-4848 or visit www.crafthouston.org. Find HCCC on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @CraftHouston.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jenny Lynn Weitz (jweitz@crafthouston.org)
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
713.529.4848 x 308
###
