January 08 - February 15 2022

Anna Mayer: Pale Clay (Influence and Contagion)

The exhibition Pale Clay (Influence and Contagion) features twelve textile works that Anna Mayer initiated immediately after her mother’s passing in 2016. At the time of her death, Mayer’s mother was in the middle of knitting a number of excerpts from Paul Klee paintings—he was one of her favorite artists. Mayer has used her mother’s custom patterns to create latch-hook versions of the Klee fragments. She knows which paintings some of the fragments come from; others she hasn’t yet found. Mayer’s practice as an artist revels in the fact that historically ceramics and fiber processes have been used to create highly functional items as well as wildly symbolic objects. Her work is part of this lineage, with equal concern for the future, and its dramatically shifting climate—ecological and political. The works in Pale Clay (Influence and Contagion) celebrate the rending of patriarchal histories. As she draws thousands of fibers through canvas grids, Mayer’s process suggests how influence may occur between realms and generations—materially, with attention to touch.

Artist's Reception: January 22 2022, From 3 to 6 pm