Warehouse Gallery features emerging female artists

This spring, both spaces at The Warehouse Gallery (the main gallery and Window Projects) feature emerging female artists and celebrate their artistic achievements at a time that coincides with International Women’s Day (March 8).The Warehouse Gallery presents “The Quadrangular Cloud” by the Swiss designer/artist duo Kueng Caputo. The installation of a temporary hotel, located in the main gallery, consists of huts that refer to “living in motion” and their traditions in Western and Eastern cultures. The exhibition is intended for audiences of all ages. The Window Projects features “The Politics of Porcelain” by Stephanie Rozene. Both exhibitions will be on view March 3–May 14.

A public reception for “The Quadrangular Cloud” will be held March 3 from 5-8 p.m. An artists’ lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in the Warehouse Auditorium. All events are free and open to the public. Additional support for the lecture is provided by the Department of Design at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

With the assistance of SU students, Kueng Caputo transformed the main gallery into small, ephemeral rooms where the visitor is invited to take a break from reality, a mini-vacation complete with a number of very simple, inexpensive and joyful elements. When seated or lying down, the public’s focus is drawn to the interior space and lighting. The idea for a temporary hotel goes back to Kueng Caputo’s “72 Hours Hotel,” made out of cardboard, which was initially developed in 2006 for the train station in Zurich.

The use of inexpensive materials and the desire to develop an outcome that is practical, playful and seemingly simple has become Kueng Caputo’s trademark. For The Warehouse Gallery they have installed various spots throughout the gallery where the visitor can learn and read about forms of living, and simply relax in this temporary hotel. Kueng Caputo’s work comments with humor and irony on the contemporary mass production process. This is their first museum solo show in the United States.

A gallery guide accompanies the exhibition with an essay by Anja Chávez. The catalog will be available at the gallery and online beginning March 11.

Rozene draws upon the fine line between design and the visual arts. Her work is the result of extensive research and gifted craftsmanship. Through the medium of ceramics—and with special attention to specific patterns, ornaments and forms—she explores the politics of American and European ceramics and traces international developments in this medium back to the reigns of French kings Louis XV and Louis XVI. For the Window Projects, and with the assistance of SU students, Rozene will exhibit porcelain tableware to turn the entire wall into three large dining tables. This exhibition has been organized in conjunction with several of Syracuse’s Th3 venues to celebrate International Women’s Day  on March 8.

This Windows project was supported in part by a Hartwick College Faculty Research Grant. An artist talk will take place on March 17 (Th3) at 6 p.m. in The Warehouse Gallery. For more information, visit http://thewarehousegallery.syr.edu under Window Projects.