February 23 - April 11, 2015
Occidental College is pleased to present Emily Sudd: Decorative Objects, an exhibition of work by the Los Angeles-based artist. The exhibition presents eleven wall sculptures and an installation, all of which continue the artist’s ongoing dialogue with object-making and the hierarchical categorization of materials, processes, and authors.
Emily Sudd began working with existing ceramic objects about three years ago. Collecting kitsch figurines and functional ware, Sudd combines souvenirs and thrift store finds to create unique sculptural compositions. By adjusting kiln temperatures in multiple firings, she has developed a technique that results in some objects and glazes melting and changing form while others remain whole in a process that can be seen as a collaboration between the artist, pre-existing objects, and the conditions of the firing.
In Emily Sudd: Decorative Objects, the artist continues this examination with eleven wall pieces that engage in conversations surrounding abstract and still life painting, decoration, and institutional critique. For this exhibition, she has expanded the exploration of object making, value, and authorship, and has created a large-scale sculpture using thrift store and collected paintings as building materials. I ♥ Love, 2015, takes on the form of an ocean wave made of intact paintings that crests over the gallery viewer.
