Material Connection
Baylee Schmitt, Door 1, Crochet Tapestry Yarn, 2024
Material Connection
Audrey An, Twiggy Boden, Baylee Schmitt, Christopher Williams, Emily Wright
August 2 – September 13, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday August 2, 5-8pm
Sanitary Tortilla Factory is pleased to present Material Connection, a group exhibition curated by Emily Wright. Material Connection brings together emerging artists from across the country who use a variety of mediums to weave connections between materials and icons, telling personal stories. Using accessible materials such as clay, yarn, and paper, they find a balance between the easily recognizable and the unfamiliar. From Audrey An’s careful perfectionism to the quick and intuitive building style of Christopher Williams, the character of their stories is reflected in their handling of materials.
As these artists re-write their own stories and examine the narratives told about them through
their material handling and storytelling, they invite us to fill in the spaces they leave open. Any story is open to interpretation, and through the use of icons, they allow us to insert ourselves into the narrative. Baylee Schmidt’s use of tapestry with modern materials riffs off the historical monumental tapestries of the medieval era, repurposing these references to speak to Schmidt’s own childhood memories. Utilizing a lexicon of childhood icons and an intense exploration of materiality, these artists craft accessible narratives that delve into the intricate nuances of their lived experiences.
Curator Bio:
Emily Wright, artist and curator, intricately weaves narratives of self and society through her terracotta vessels and fabric sculptures. With an innate curiosity about the world, she seeks to uncover unexpected connections within familiar symbols. Having earned her BFA from Alfred University in 2017, Emily cultivated her artistry while working as a potter on the east coast. Her dedication and innovation were recognized with accolades such as the Best Hand Built Piece in the 28th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National and the prestigious Maryland Arts Council Fellowship. In 2023, she attained her MFA from Penn State University, where she was honored with the Creative Achievement Award for her boundary-pushing work. After relocating to the southwest Emily was recognized with the Surface Emerging Artist Award, and has begun showing and curating in Albuquerque NM. Her commitment to storytelling and community engagement manifests in her latest ventures, curating and facilitating the creation of large scale social justice projects. Emily’s acts as an advocate for the use of hand-work to process complex identity work.
Artist Bios:
Audrey An’s creative research revolves around the notion of applying digital technologies to ceramics from the perspective of ‘convergence’, be it cultural, technological, or interdisciplinary. She explores her own history as a “third culture kid” bouncing between Korea and the USA using the metaphor of the mixing of handwork and digitalwork to create a third kind of art.
Twiggy Boden is a queer interdisciplinary ceramic artist. Raised in the heart of the Midwest and its conservative systems, Twiggy understands feeling lost and unseen. Their art questions gender constructs and performance through sculpture and wearable art, allowing young queer people to defy the constructs that raised them.
Baylee Schmitt’s work creates a liminal space, existing somewhere between the psychological and the real, and at the juncture of self and environment. They revere the small labors and toil of the medium; a sacred practice rooted in commitment and devotion. Each stitch passes through their fingers, creating an environment saturated with touch. Bringing form to things that no longer exist as they once did is key to Schmitt’s artistic practice. Her current body of work is a crocheted replica of the kitchen from her childhood home.
Christopher William’s has spent time studying traditional fresco painting and garden architecture in Florence, Italy. They are a story-teller through the twisting of tradition and history and making hand built ceramic vessels giving a voice to objects through theatrical and performative installation. Interested in translation and transformation of objects and personal identity, the pieces are exhibited in various stages of alteration and growth. Hand-drawn animation is often projected over the displays to activate and decorate the installation when the performer is absent.
Emily Wright’s practice explores identity and community through personal narrative. She employs clay and fabric as her creative instruments. Her art deftly melds traditional pottery and quilt-making techniques with unexpected materials to achieve a harmonious balance between time-honored craftsmanship and moments of creative revelation.