In/Animate surveys the past decade of work by Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, internationally renowned metalsmith and head of the metal program at SUNY New Paltz. Curated by author Akiko Busch, the exhibition explores a variety of artistic processes using iron, copper, brass, silver, and enameled steel. Mimlitsch-Gray’s domestic artifacts suggest a coalescence of body and thing, conveying the mutability of the animate and inanimate and reflecting the intimacy between people and the objects they use. A spoon could be a lip, or a dangling twist of fabric might be a vein. Over 40 meticulously crafted works contribute to the contemporary conversation about how household objects express ideas about presentation, utility, and class.
Akiko Busch writes about design, culture, and nature for a variety of publications. She is the author of Geography of Home, The Uncommon Life of Common Objects, Nine Ways to Cross a River, and The Incidental Steward. Myra Mimlitsch-Gray is an artist whose metalwork and sculpture has been widely exhibited in the United States and abroad. An essay by curator Daniel Belasco and introduction by Dorsky Museum Director Sara Pasti are included. Catalog design by Group C Inc., New Haven, Connecticut.