Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019 – Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019

Artist Demo by Molly Koehn
Saturday, August 24, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Fiber artist Molly Koehn, who is featured in the exhibition, will demonstrate a double-weaving process.

In Residence: 11th Edition celebrates HCCC’s Artist Residency Program, which has supported makers for almost two decades. Featuring artwork made from clay, fiber, metal, wood and mixed media, the exhibition includes works by 2017 – 2018 resident artists, Corey Ackelmire, Daniel Garver, Hiromi Iyoda, Molly Koehn, Hannah Oatman, Angel Oloshove, and Liz Robb.

The Artist Residency Program at HCCC provides resident artists with a space for creative exploration, exchange, and collaboration with other artists, professionals in the field, and the public. HCCC Curatorial Fellow María-Elisa Heg notes, “The works in this year’s In Residence showcase both excellence in traditional craft and exciting innovations from artists who are continuing to expand their output and vision.”

Corey Ackelmire uses her work in metalsmithing and jewelry to affect and observe human behaviors and habits. As part of her Better Angels Project, Ackelmire has altered pennies and sent them into the hands of participants to leave for others to find, as a kind of meditation on the faith people put in both fiat currency and humankind.

Daniel Garver and Angel Oloshove embrace mark-making in their practice. Garver moves between drawing, weaving, and ceramics to examine how psychology affects perceptions of pattern, order, and form, incorporating optical illusions to invite deeper viewing. Oloshove uses color and form to convey emotional and spiritual intensity, moving between printmaking and ceramics to balance the spontaneous act of creation with the practice of her craft.

In her fantastical ceramics, Hiromi Iyoda references her childhood spent in Japan, watching cartoons like Akira, a film where an ever-expanding construct takes over the body of a teenager, adding mass and growth with every moment of psychological intensity. Iyoda’s ceramic figurines are a combination of Akira and the humble hermit crab: they move through the world, continuing to grow and evolve, just as humans do as they age and accumulate memories.

Molly Koehn and Liz Robb respond to the natural world in their work, drawing attention to environmental issues through their use of techniques and materials. Robb’s work in clay and fiber draws on the elemental rawness of nature by using natural dyes and techniques to bring out a rich palette that taps into mystical connections with wildness and the unknown. By contrast, Koehn’s work relies on the use of man-made materials to simulate organic architectural forms that combine rigidity and softness. Her pieces are intended to remind humanity of its debt to nature in the dawn of the Anthropocene, the current geologic age that is defined by the singular impact human beings have had on the climate and environment.

In her jewelry, Hannah Oatman references traditions of collage and the history of mass production and consumer design. Her Collage series, true to its name, was achieved through layering distinct elements to form a larger whole. Newer works include partially assembled brooches intended to be acquired and put together by their collectors, who are unaware of what pieces they may get. The series challenges the authority and taste of collectors and asks them to relinquish control.

In Residence: 11th Edition was curated by HCCC Curatorial Fellow, María-Elisa Heg. More information about Houston Center for Contemporary Craft’s Residency Program can be found at:
https://www.crafthouston.org/artists/residents/.

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.

Located in the Museum District at 4848 Main Street, HCCC is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM, and Sunday, 12 – 5 PM. Holidays: Closed Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. 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 supported by individual donors and members and funded in part by 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.