Martha Russo: coalescere

coalescere brings together 25 years of work by the sculptor and installation artist Martha Russo. The artist’s first solo museum exhibition, coalescere explores the progression of Russo’s work, highlighting sculptural pieces created over the course of her artistic practice as well as a series of new works and large-scale, site-specific installations.

The exhibition title, which is from the Latin “come together,” reflects Russo’s interest in bringing together her diverse body of work, to explore the themes and forms that carry throughout her career. The title also speaks to the nature of her newest works, which feature thousands of individual elements pieced together to create unexpected and surprising new forms. Russo’s organic, abstract sculptures and installations push the boundaries of clay. She playfully references a multiplicity of sources and processes, including anatomical, botanical, and oceanic elements, and notions of growth and decay, particularly on a cellular level. ... 

The centerpiece of the exhibition is nomos, a large-scale, curvilinear installation that Russo has been working on for the past 25 years. Featuring over 20,000 abstracted porcelain tendrils, the work encourages viewers to look closely at the varied forms, textures, and colors. Like many of Russo’s works, nomos brings to light the artist’s interest in creating an experience for the visitor that invites a closer look and deeper exploration, a method at the heart of her studio and exhibition practices. ...coalescere ultimately presents a process of discovery for both the viewer and exhibiting artist. The exhibition looks both backward and forward, and most importantly, is a catalyst for defining and shaping Russo’s future work.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website