Materials For The Arts Hosts The Exhibition Opening Of 'Loose Ends' By Whitney Oldenburg

On Thursday, December 19, 2019, Materials for the Arts (MFTA) will host the exhibition opening of Loose Ends by Whitney Oldenburg. This solo exhibition includes sculptures Oldenburg created during her Fall 2019 residency at Materials for the Arts.

Oldenburg's work incorporates a variety of materials including rock, clay, string, tubing, and various home goods including ice trays. Fascinated by the delicate balance and reciprocal impacts humans and objects have on one another, Oldenburg provides space for these unique materials and their properties-whether firm, spongy, smooth, rigid, flexible or coarse-to shape her creations. Oldenburg's works become propositions for understanding control. Loose Ends explores the desire to keep things tightly bound or complete, when they so easily can become unraveled.

Many of Oldenburg's works include complex configurations of knotted ropes and string. Her artwork ranges in size from 13 inches to 31 feet. Her 31-foot sculpture, "Shoe Lace," which extends the length of one gallery wing, is the largest work to be installed in the MFTA gallery to date.

The MFTA Artist-in-Residence program provides support and studio space for artists whose practice involves the creative reuse of materials. During her residency, Oldenburg was granted access to the supplies in MFTA's 35,000 square-foot warehouse of donated materials to incorporate in her show.

The exhibition opening on Thursday, December 19 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm will also feature a live violin performance by Whitney Biennial artist, Laura Ortman. Ortman, who now resides in Brooklyn, grew up in Whiteriver, Arizona, and is White Mountain Apache. She calls herself a sculptor of sound who experiments with remixing and layering her compositions. Ortman's special performance at Materials for the Arts is a dedication to the end of 2019 and the start of a new decade.

Materials for the Arts invites visitors to attend the exhibition opening on Thursday, December 19, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Guests may tour the gallery and talk with Oldenburg about her artwork and her experience as an MFTA Artist-in-Residence. This event is free and open to the public. Those interested in attending may register at MFTA's website.

Loose Ends will be on view at the MFTA gallery until Friday, March 6. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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