Photo by by Avery Pelekoudas Courtesy of The Warehouse Art Museum
'Noble Effort' by Richard Marquis
'Noble Effort' blown glass by Richard Marquis
Most of the objects displayed in “Objects of Substance,” the current exhibition at Warehouse Art Museum (WAM), are of recent origin. And yet, the roots of the exhibit, subtitled “International Contemporary Craft,” are traceable to William Morris’ Arts and Crafts movement prevalent at the dawn of the 20th century. Morris countered the mass production of the Industrial Age by reviving the idea of craftspeople making beautiful objects for everyday or decorative use. Problem was that mass produced wares were cheaper to buy. “Arts and Crafts produced expensive objects only the aristocracy could afford,” says WAM’s co-director John Shannon. “That was the flaw.”
“Objects of Substance” doesn’t solve that conundrum but serves as a cross-section of present-day, high-end handmade work in many media from across the world. The growing interest in craft, with a proliferation of makers markets and the popularity of Etsy, can be seen as pushback against the Digital Age not unlike Morris’ challenge to the Age of Industry. “Objects of Substance” makes an argument in the ongoing discussion over where art ends and craft begins. “There’s good art and bad art. A good glass vase is as good as any monumental painting. We make no distinction,” Shannon says. “A slipshod painting and a slipshod vase are equally bad.”
Photo by Robb Quinn
'Objects of Substance' exhibit at The Warehouse Art Museum
'Objects of Substance' exhibit at The Warehouse Art Museum
Another reference to the William Morris era becomes apparent when examining the objects of “Objects of Substance.” Unconsciously or not, many bare some affinity to Art Nouveau. Vittorio Ferro’s Untitled is a tall glass flower vase with organic shapes climbing up its side like flowering vines on a rose-colored tower. Joel Urruty’s Stroke is a grandfather clock like no other. The carved wood and copper-leafed construct resembles a tree whose bark reveals subtle gradations on close inspection. The influence of the natural world can be seen in Alessandro Casson’s Murrini Bird, a textured, multicolored wingspread formed from blown and etched glass, and can also be sensed in Amanda Simmons’ North Land, a glass platter whose edges curve and billow in defiance of kitchenware geometry.
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An open area of the exhibit, suggesting a clearing in a landscape, is ringed with work by Wisconsin Ho-Chunk artist Truman Lowe. His mixed media Feather Canoe is a fanciful construction fashioned from natural materials, a canoe on the verge of becoming a bird in flight.
Photo by Avery Pelekoudas courtesy of The Warehouse Art Museum
'Low Rift Brazil Vase' sycamore veneer with stain by Colin Schleeh
'Low Rift Brazil Vase' sycamore veneer with stain by Colin Schleeh
“Objects of Substance: International Contemporary Craft” consists of some 150 artifacts in clay, glass, wood, fiber and metal from the U.S., 15 other countries “and four continents,” Shannon adds. Curator Melanie Herzog drew the exhibition from the private collection of Shannon and the museum’s co-director, Jan Serr. “Objects of Substance” runs through July 22 at Warehouse Art Museum, 1635 W. St. Paul Ave. Admission is free but donations, to be distributed to the Bronzeville Art Center are encouraged. For more information, visit wammke.org.
