Emmett Ramstad: Touching Each Other

Emmett Ramstad’s work explores the intimate ordinary. Shaped by an interest in queer archival practices, his sculptures originate from collections of donated objects, such as toothbrushes, socks, and underwear, and become minimalist monuments to bodies and their detritus. His exhibition detaches grooming from the realm of the private and the domestic into the communal.

Ramstad’s exhibition includes two participatory pieces. “Mend with Me” is a series of sock darning lessons in the MIA Period Rooms on Tuesdays in February. Click here to sign up. “Sort” is a sock sorting piece, including volunteer sorters, in the exhibition at 11am daily. To sign up: e-mail maep@artsmia.org.

Lindsay Rhyner: Material Worlds
Lindsay Rhyner’s textile wall hangings are loosely based on found-photographs and postcards from the 1940s. The imagery depicted in the postcards and photographs is of a seemingly idyllic time. Pictures of exotic places, agriculture, war, tourism, and monuments were rendered in oversaturated color and rigid composition—a window to a perfect world that never existed. By translating these worlds into fabric and using reflective materials, like sequins, reflective fabrics, and rhinestones, Rhyner forces us to look beyond the frozen image and to take a closer look at the materiality of the wall hangings themselves.

Opening receptions: Thursday, January 21, 6 to 9 p.m.
Artist talks: Thursday, February 18, 7 p.m.