Liminal Reality
Alison Ragguette
- Cross Section Ellipse, 2011
- Turquoise Julep, 2017
- Pathogen Playground, 2015 & Cross Section Ellipse, 2011
- Glitter Juice, 2017
- Rejects and Residue, 2016 & Pink Sugar Flood, 2015
- Pink Sugar Flood, 2015
- Pink Orb Cluster, 2019
- Cross Section Ellipse, 2011 & Rejects and Residue, 2016
- Cantaloupe Cluster, 2017
- Glass, Rubber and Porcelain, 2017 & and Porcelain, Silicone, Glass, Glitter, and Silk,
2019
- Baby Poop, 2015
- Green Orb Cluster, 2019
Liminal Reality
Diana Berger Gallery presents Liminal Reality, a solo exhibition featuring Alison Ragguette.
Contrasting between natural and synthetic materials, Alison Ragguette brings the micro into the macro through objects and installations that seem to be pulled out of a scientific laboratory. Liminal Reality sits in the bifurcation between surrender and control by contemplating humanity’s relationship with nature. In this narrative, familiar porcelain objects symbolize human-imposed controls that interfere with the natural process. The seductively colored, flesh-like synthetic materials embody a toxic new life, commanding authority by luring the viewer into a visceral state of embrace, protection, and suffocation. Depicting this precarious interplay between humanity and the environment, Liminal Reality reconciles with this transitional space between anxiety and optimism that exists in current cultural behaviors with emerging new realities. These works become the symbol for fear dismissing current logic, yet they also provide a visual representation for hope, as their transitory states imply opportunity for the need to examine our proximity to the world and further relational reform.
Ragguette’s work expands the field of ceramics by bringing up discourse of art vs craft through the conceptual use of materials, color, technique, and installation. Through this discourse her work negotiates its ceramic and fine arts membership.
Alison’s work has been included in national and international exhibitions, including her most recent solo exhibitions at AB Projects, the American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona), the International Museum of Surgical Science (Chicago), Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (San Bernardino) and Launch LA (Los Angeles). She has exhibited at venues including Durden and Ray (Los Angeles), the Architecture and Design Museum (Los Angeles), The Contemporary (Austin), and international venues including the Galleria De Los Oficios(Santiago de Cuba), Shanghai University Art Gallery (China), and Harbor Front Center (Toronto). Alison has been a resident artist at the Taller Cultural in Santiago de Cuba, Jingdehzen Pottery Workshop in China, and the Purosil Rubber Company in Corona, California. Her work has been highlighted in several art publications and textbooks, including Ceramics Monthly, LA Art Week and Artillery Magazine. Alison has been supported by grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, and the Durfee Foundation in Los Angeles. She is currently a Professor of Art, Head of the Ceramics Program, and MFA coordinator at California State University, San Bernardino.
Curated by Humberto Reynoso.
Online Exhibition: https://www.mtsac.edu/artgallery/
Online Opening: Thursday April 8, 2021, 4:00 pm
Contact: hreynoso3@mtsac.edu and srobles1@mtsac.edu
Online Access: Free and available to the public
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