Curatorial Statement
For the months of June, July and August the Red Lodge Clay Center chooses individual artists to coordinate groups, inviting other like-minded artists to work alongside them in the studio. The Artist Invite Artists program fosters a creative atmosphere. Participating artists are chosen not only due to the quality of their work, but also according to need for time and opportunity to make. The mandate to provide working artists time to concentrate on their studio practice, which they may not have access to during the academic year is integral to our mission. We offer them time, space and community to get their minds whirring and their hands moving.
This summer Red Lodge Clay Center is happy to present the First Annual AIA Summer Kickoff Exhibition, an opportunity to observe the breadth of work supported by our summer residency programs in one fell swoop. As each group arrives in Red Lodge we urge our local and regional audience to keep an eye out for image night announcements in our monthly newsletter and on Facebook. Image nights are a chance to share great local food together and meet new people who are visiting for a few weeks, hear their stories and relate some of our own.
This summer will begin with a group assembled by Anna Calluori Holcombe from Gainesville, Florida. The artists in Anna’s group have the common bond of international travel. They have all met before at various residencies outside of the U.S. and now they will share an experience stateside, solidifying connections forged abroad. Next up, at the end of June from Helena, Montana, Giselle Hicks has gathered a group of makers in the early stages of their careers. While they have been working as professional artists for several years, they are still in the midst of building their brand and defining their studio practices. Finishing up the summer is a group gathered by Jeri Au from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. If the artists invited by Hicks are one end of the spectrum, Au’s group is the counterpoint with their historied careers and legacies in tow. Moreover this group is connected by long-standing friendships, each member a model of a lifetime commitment to art in everyday life.