"Through the Toy Shop and Behind the Curtain: The Artistry of Gina M."
Opening Reception
Date: January 25, 2020Time: 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Don B. Huntley Gallery
Event Info
Date/Time:
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 25, 2020 - 2-5pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, January 25, 2020 - 3:30pm
Exhibition: January 21 - May 14, 2020
***(Extended virtually through August 31, 2021, due to the pandemic)***
Location:
Don B. Huntley Gallery
Check out the Gallery Exhibition Below.
Gallery Exhibition | Through the Toy Shop and Behind the Curtain
For Venue Info or to Plan Your Visit
About the Exhibition
Gina M.'s solo exhibition Through the Toy Shop and Behind the Curtain is a full- scale immersive space installation combining both whimsical, found-object assemblages and trompe l'oeil ceramics. The exhibition is an "open toy chest" of nostalgia, whimsical fun, and ironic humor that gently leads the viewer to a darker repository of coded narratives and thoughtful metaphor, masking the gloomy overtones of desolation and melancholy. Her life-like sculptures are made of high-fired clay, oxide washes, encaustic paint, and found objects. Their homespun construction and textured surfaces simulate threadbare fabric, tattered fur, and the broken button eyes of careworn and faded toys that "come to life" in a toystore-full of mischievous characters, plush animal misfits, and shiny train sets. Her sculptural assemblages made of antique found objects and vintage collectibles become stand-alone, Jack-in-the-box-esque creatures, freak show specimens, and marionette-theater figurines. Together these lovable minions combine to create a large-scale installation the tantalizes the senses, triggers memories of childhood, nostalgia, and painful psychological trauma, and with dewy-eyed innocence, reasonably questions concepts of adulthood and its repercussions.
