ALTOGALLERY

Opening Reception: First Friday, June 4, 6 - 10 PM

Closing Reception: TBA

​

​

ABOUT EXOTIC/SOPHISTICATED
Alto Gallery is proud to present Exotic/Sophisticated, a solo exhibition of new ceramic work and
scented installation by Marsha Mack.

Set in a lush foreign jungle, Exotic/Sophisticated muses on the curious philosophy of Mack's mother: that harmony is attained through the pairing of exotic and sophisticated elements. Featuring sculptural ceramic vases twirling in a constructed paradise, Exotic/Sophisticated borrows from both memory and fantasy, trawling the commercial marketplace for answers to an unknowable paradigm.

What exactly does exotic refer to? Who or what can be deemed sophisticated?

In Exotic/Sophisticated the aesthetics of value come into question. Often appraised through material quality, craftsmanship, and scarcity, the question of worth touches every corner of our world, public and private alike. Through a synthesis of high-skill ceramic sculpture adorned with sparkling baubles such as cultured freshwater pearls and acrylic butterfly fingernail embellishments, conversations around cultural value and standards of beauty emerge.

To the trademarked scent of ParadiseTM via plugin air fresheners, in Exotic/Sophisticated Marsha Mack lures and ensnares happiness through the acts of collection and embellishment. No detail is spared, with dye enhanced floral bouquets reaching across mirrored pedestals into layered paradisiacal scenes draped one on top of the next. Even in the spaces between the smallest size PP3 rhinestones, refined technique and glittery abandon mingle to create a unique visual
vocabulary- one that hurdles forward and stops suddenly, dangly earrings lurching forward and
back.

 

ABOUT MARSHA MACK
Marsha Mack (San Rafael, CA) holds an MFA in Ceramics and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women's and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, and a BFA in Ceramics from San Francisco State University. Mack has presented projects and exhibitions with the Museum of
Contemporary Art Denver (Denver, CO), Black Cube Nomadic Museum (Englewood, CO), Lane Meyer Projects (Denver, CO), PØST (Los Angeles, CA), The Yard (Colorado Springs, CO), and the Galleries of Contemporary Art (Colorado Springs, CO). Marsha is currently the Associate Director of David B. Smith Gallery (Denver, CO), and a ceramic instructor at Foothills Park and Recreation District (Littleton, CO) and Washington Heights Art Center (Lakewood, CO).