The Michener Art Museum is welcoming a new exhibition this Memorial Day Weekend. From nationally recognized ceramic artist and educator Lisa Naples, ‘Grounded in Gold,’ the culmination of an ongoing 40-year studio career, will be on display from May 24 through Nov. 25.
The exhibition examines humanity’s inner experience through abstract and animal sculptures that draw on the symbolism of gold. Naples, based in Frenchtown, New Jersey, will put this group of sculptures on public display for the first time in what is also her first solo exhibition at the Michener.
“What makes Lisa’s works so special is the way she’s able to take complex ideas and communicate them in her ceramics,” said Michener Art Museum Assistant Curator Abi Lua. “The beauty of this body of work comes from the creative storytelling that Lisa Naples is known for, and also from the way she invites us to a greater self-awareness of our own dignity—the ways we are grounded in gold.”
Depicting the extremes of tenderness and estrangement, Naples uses gold to ground each piece — hence the exhibit name — while representing what is most precious and sacred. Naples has spent over two years producing the works included in the collection.
“This is the strongest, bravest work I’ve ever managed to create,” Naples said. “Exploring these deep questions could only happen by challenging my limits in ceramics. Even in a long studio career, this is the rarest of rare exhibitions. Manifesting the space and time to bring it into being feels like a small miracle.”
To learn more about the ‘Lisa Naples: Grounded in Gold’ exhibit, or about the Michener Art Museum, visit michenerartmuseum.org
