Surface Dreams and Superstructures, Works by Robert Harrison, on view from June 30th, 2023 to January 12th 2024, highlights selected and new works by artist Robert Harrison, who is globaly celebrated for his ceramic sculptures and architecturally inspired site-specific installations. The work is presented by the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art and is showcased within the Wylder Gallery as well as the museum’s Sculpture Garden. The exhibition explores interactions between the built environment and interior domestic space – real, implied, and imagined. The intent of the exhibition is to address intermingling dichotomies of meaning between the swirling decal dreamscapes, agglomerations of objects, architectural forms, and space. All while emphasizing society’s relationship with wealth, waste, and history.
Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, Nicole Maria Evans, points to Robert Harrison’s work as evidence of his dedication to invention, innovation, and sustainability within the field of ceramics. His enthusiasm for researching the historic precedents of fine China, brick making, ancient structures, functional, and technical innovations in ceramics or architecture goes beyond appreciation. Harrison’s deep connoisseurship and practice reinvigorate appreciation of discarded creations or materials, with a critical yet humoristic tone that has transformed the field of ceramics in Montana and the United States.
Excerpt from the essay “Robert Harrison - Brick by Brick,” in the Surface Dreams and Superstructures exhibition catalogue.
By Randi O’Brien
