Playful/Pensive: Contemporary Artists and Contemporary Issues

 

In a modern context, artists not working on a commission can choose to express whatever they desire in their work. The choice of subject matter, and how exactly it is communicated, is filtered through the artist’s perspective. Concerns impacting the artist, whether internal or external, can direct decisions about what is depicted in their artwork and why.

The artworks included in this exhibition are either playful or thought-provoking, and sometimes both—seeming lighthearted at first but ultimately speaking to deeper, more complex issues. Constructed of materials such as ceramic and glass that can withstand the demanding conditions of RAM’s Windows on Fifth Gallery, these works reflect personal, social, and cultural issues and ideas in sometimes unexpected ways.

Some of these artists and some of these works have been shown in RAM’s galleries before but, they have not been shown together, nor have they been shown in the Windows on Fifth Gallery. This is significant because it underscores how different meanings can be obtained through context, both relative to the other works on display and the gallery space they occupy. Having work on full view of anyone who passes by the museum—and not just those who could come inside—opens up the potential for the object to impact, mystify, bother, or excite a layered and diverse network of people.