Idiot Strings, believable (detail), 2022
Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – Visceral: Verity, a new exhibition of the work of contemporary artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs, opens Friday, March 3.
The exhibition opens on March 3, from 4:30 to 7:00 pm, with a lecture by the artist at 6:30 pm
His mixed-media installations combine natural and synthetic materials and evoke questions of authentic experience, truth, abuse, transparency, and credibility. She is one of the few artists who work with marine mammal guts.
Kelliher-Combs returns to the museum for the first time since her powerful 2001 solo show, bringing to her art the wealth of her experience growing up in Nome, her career as an internationally recognized artist, her life in Anchorage, and her insights as a person of Inupiaq descent. , Athabascan and European.
gut: truth is the first in a series of three interrelated exhibitions opening at the State Museum. He Visceral The trilogy is co-curated by Kelliher-Combs and explores contemporary and historical Alaska Native themes, highlighting the gut as a material used to express indigenous voices.
The second exhibition of the trilogy, Visceral: Legacy Opening on the first Friday in May, it expands on Kelliher-Combs’ solo exhibition themes through a selection of objects from the museum’s permanent collection.
The third exhibition of the trilogy, Visceral: Identity also opening on the first Friday in May, it features a selection of gut parkas from across Alaska to highlight the technical and historical aspects of this extraordinary material from a cross-cultural perspective. Kelliher-Combs and co-curator Ellen Carrlee, curator at the Alaska State Museum, will explore the latest research examining this medium and why casing remains an important material for key relationships in Alaska.
He Visceral The exhibit trilogy will be on display during the 2023 summer season and will include special workshops and lectures.
Visceral: Truth, Legacy, Identity
Alaska Native Gut Knowledge and Perseverance
visceral
1: felt in or as being in the internal organs of the body
2: characterized by or stemming from instinct rather than intellect
3: Characterized by or dealing with gross or low emotions
TRUE
1: the quality or state of being true or real
2: something (such as a statement) that is true
3: the quality or state of being truthful or honest
legacy
1: a gift by will especially of money or personal property
2: something transmitted or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past
identity
1: the condition of being oneself or oneself, and not another
2. condition or character as to who a person is or what: qualities, beliefs, etc.
3. the state or fact of remaining the same or the same, as under different aspects or conditions
The Alaska State Museum houses a spectacular permanent collection as well as temporary exhibits.
For museum hours, fees, and more information, visit museums.alaska.gov. The museum’s telephone number is (907) 465-2901.
A person with a disability who needs accommodations for events hosted by the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museum may contact the Division’s ADA Coordinator at (907) 465-2912. Please contact them a week in advance so they can make the necessary arrangements.
