Main Gallery

Return to Function
October 2, 2009 – January 10, 2010
Anna K. Meredith Gallery

Return to Function explores the desire of contemporary artists to make functional objects. Dissolving the line between fine and applied arts, the objects in this exhibition demonstrate how works of art can be engaged with the world around them by responding to the needs of everyday life. The works in the exhibition range from vehicles to clothing to lighting to mobile architecture. Return to Function unites emerging and established artists from American and European contexts, including Jules De Balincourt, Davide Balula, Ralph Borland, Claire Fontaine, Mark Hosking, Fabrice Hyber, Huong Ngo, Lucy Orta, Jorge Pardo, and Andrea Zittel, among others. The exhibition is curated by Jane Simon for the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and accompanied by an exhibition catalogue with essays by Ami Barak, Martha Schwendener, and Jane Simon. The exhibition is organized for the Des Moines Art Center by Laura Burkhalter, assistant curator.

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