Sow & Tailor proudly presents Standing on Four Legs, a solo exhibition showcasing recent ceramic and metal works by North Carolina-based artist Isys Hennigar. Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, May 4th, from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. The exhibition will run until June 1, 2024.
Standing on Four Legs is an exhibition of masterful works that intricately weaves ceramic and metalwork to explore the intersections of nature and human experience. Through this exhibition, Isys Hennigar invites viewers to delve into realms of transformation, hybridity, and renewal. Drawing inspiration from agricultural practices, mythology, and personal narrative, Hennigar's art offers a poignant reflection on systems of sustenance, healing, and the enduring legacies of land cultivation.
Hailing from the rural landscapes of the Southern United States, Hennigar's upbringing infuses her work with a profound sense of place and ritual. Influenced by the labor rituals of tending commercial vineyards and animals, her creations evoke a vivid sense of time, abundance, and precarity. Within this immersive environment, her sculptures emerge as dreamlike chimeras, intertwining allegories of sustenance, danger, and purification. Central to Hennigar's practice is the interplay between ceramics and metal, materials laden with connotations of strength and fragility. Through this material dialogue, her work explores themes of danger and resilience, inviting viewers to contemplate the intricate balance between fragility and fortitude inherent in both nature and human existence. Hennigar's mastery of surface treatment further elevates her work, with colorful, layered textures crafted through multiple firings and adorned with metal components. Employing jeweler's techniques on a grand scale, her pieces resemble engraved charms, envisioning connections between chaos and play, between untamed creatures and a world resilient in its diversity.
At the core of Hennigar's oeuvre lies the vessel — a symbolic mediator of interactions and experiences. Hand-built and adorned with intricately carved reliefs of animals and vernacular objects, her sculptural vessels serve as conduits for storytelling and reflection. Rendered in a state of metamorphosis, hunt, or performance, her animals inhabit a realm of ambiguity, prompting viewers to reconsider their relationship with the wild and the domestic. Through her art, Isys Hennigar invites us to embark on a journey of exploration and introspection.
Isys Hennigar (b. 1995) is a North Carolina based artist working in ceramics and metal. She received her MFA from the University of Georgia and BFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Exhibitions of her work include the American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA), Signature Contemporary (Atlanta, GA), Sow & Tailor Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Ferrara Showman Gallery (New Orleans, LA), and the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh, NC).
