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Mary Grisey | Artist Profile Publication

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Page 1: Mary Grisey | Artist Profile Publication
Page 2: Mary Grisey | Artist Profile Publication

CURATORIAL STATEMENTIn her essay “On Stuff and Nonsense: The Complexity of Cloth,” cultural studies scholar Claire Pajaczkowsa posits that textiles occupy an inherently liminal space, between the cultural realms of the functional and the symbolic. With Sung from the Mouth of Cumae, Mary Grisey limns similarly antipodean territory. Although her fibre-based installations are not functional, they are first and foremost, an exploration of materials – of physicality, and properties of texture and movement. But Grisey is also deeply interested in history, mythology and the less tangible qualities of time and the connection to the metaphysical. Pajaczkowsa suggests that weaving is “an activity that is both supernatural/divine and mundane. It transforms the natural materiality of animal, vegetable or mineral into the cultural clothing of humans.”1 Grisey weaves these two threads - the mundane, functional, material, and the metaphorical, intangible – together in an immersive, multi-sensory installation that invites us to consider the power of the physical/material world to invoke the ephemeral.

The installation's title refers to Cumae, a Greek colony in Italy founded in the 8th century B.C.E. It was the site of one of the famed oracles of the ancient world, where the Cumean Sibyl, a priestess, was said to have sung prophecies from the mouth of a cave. In the centre of the gallery is a mass of handbuilt clay, almost geological in form, from which eerie sounds emanate. Surrounding it are a series of hanging woven sculptures, perhaps figures, drawing close to the mouth of the cave, listening to echoes of whispered prophecies.

Grisey’s previous installation work has invoked archaeological excavations, digging up what might be hidden beneath the surface, even in the white cube of the gallery space. She has cut holes in walls, exposing fibres, odd waxy substances, deteriorating structures; her work echoes both the generative processes of history and the appeal of the uncertain, ephemeral and intangible. Using fibres and dyes made from natural materials, Grisey performs the same physical and exacting act of weaving that has existed for thousands of years. But by subsequent application of corrosive substances and destructive practices to these painstakingly constructed weavings, Grisey allows an element of uncertainty into the production of the work, an idea that we must move beyond the physical to seek the truth, just as those who consulted the sibyls trusted their fate to these young women’s enigmatic and ambiguous interpretations of the word of the gods. Sung from the Mouth of Cumae suggests a fascination with how, over time, materials decay, and yet become palimpsests of meaning, pointing to something beyond themselves.

The cave at Cumae served as the physical point of connection to the spiritual realm; for us in the gallery, the materiality of artwork is our bridge into the ephemeral and emotional. As we attend to the experience of being sung to, amidst shrouds and shards, rags and refuse, we are offered momentary admittance into this liminal space between the real and the imagined, the warp and the weft.

Kendra Ainsworth Assistant Curator

DIRECTOR’S NOTEThe AGM is proud to present Mary Grisey’s Sung from the Mouth of Cumae in our exhibition lineup for the fall and winter of 2015. This work lends a unique perspective to the gallery’s thematic examination of landscape and its mercurial ability to shift and change. Influenced by the often fugitive state of fibre based materials, Grisey's work posits themes of destruction and transformation while referencing the legend of Cumean Sibyl – a Greek oracle who was said to have sung prophecies from the mouth of a cave. Grisey evokes the effects of time and decay on landscape, history and mythology through this immersive ceramic, fibre and sound installation. Dedicated to presenting emerging artists from Mississauga and the GTA, we are thrilled to present Mary Grisey’s latest body of work as the next installment in the gallery’s XIT-RM space.

Thank you to Kendra Ainsworth for curating this exhibition and for the collaborative support of AGM staff members Sadaf Zuberi, Shellie Zhang, Laura Carusi, William Brereton and our incredible roster of Volunteers.

Mandy Salter Director | Curator

ARTIST BIO Mary Grisey is an American sculptural installation artist currently based in Toronto, Ontario. She received a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2008) and a BA in Painting and Drawing from Marist College (2006). She has exhibited her work in the United States and Canada including in New York, Chicago, Kentucky, San Francisco and Toronto. She completed her MFA in the Visual Arts program at York University in Toronto (2014) and was awarded a grant to attend the Vermont Studio Center in the Fall of 2014. 1 Claire Pajaczkowska, “On Stuff and Nonsense: The Complexity of Cloth.”

Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture 3, no. 3 (2005): 233.

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IMAGE CREDITCover Mary Grisey, Sung From the Mouth of Cumae (installation view). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid. Works Numina of Akasha I – VI, 2015, handwoven & hand-dyed linen and raffia, bleach, rust.Echoes from the Adytum, 2015, earthenware and sound, sound produced in collaboration with Brooke Manning of LOOM.

Inside Mary Grisey, Numina of Akasha (detail), 2015. Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.

ARTIST TALK Saturday, October 17, 1 pm

XIT-RMThe XIT-RM is a project space dedicated to showcasing the work of emerging artists in the GTA and Mississauga region. Artists are selected annually by the gallery’s curatorial team to exhibit work that honours the mission and mandate of the AGM, with an emphasis on contemporary art and critical engagement.

Thanks to generous funding provided by the RBC Foundation, each exhibition features its own opening and is accompanied by a published catalogue with a curatorial essay.

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

Engage. Think. Inspire. This phrase opens the dialogue at the AGM. The Gallery connects with the people of Mississauga through the collection and presentation of relevant works from a range of periods and movements in Canadian art. Expressing multiple ideas and concepts, this visual art translates into meaningful cultural and social experiences for all audiences. The AGM employs innovative education, artist projects and other forms of dialogue to advance critical enquiry and community connection to the visual arts.

an Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

Staff: Mandy Salter – Director | CuratorKendra Ainsworth – Assistant Curator Shellie Zhang – Communications

Sadaf Zuberi – Business Operations Manager Laura Carusi – Volunteer Coordinator | Curatorial Assistant William Brereton – Animateur

Address: Art Gallery of Mississauga, 300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1Tel: 905-896-5088 Web: Check website for updates. artgalleryofmississauga.com

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ISBN: 978-1-927595-21-3