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Feb. 26th - August 29th, 2021
Future Retrieval, the studio collaboration of former University of Cincinnati faculty members Katie Parker and Guy Michael Davis, appropriates imagery and forms from historical objects to create new art that speaks to our twenty-first-century experience. Their practice is rooted in ceramic art, but also incorporates a diverse mix of media and techniques that combine age-old methods with new technologies.
“Close Parallel” implies two things that are strongly related, but not the same; a pair of lines, forms, or ideas that travel side by side but arrive at distinctly different destinations. Katie Parker and Guy Michael Davis who collaborate as Future Retrieval (est. 2008), specialize in using historical artworks as a springboard to conceptualize and create fresh, original works that reference or are close parallels to past artistic achievements while simultaneously vaulting them into a modern-day context. Through Future Retrieval’s work, both object- and installation-based, historical designs gain a contemporary relevance and accessibility that entices viewers to dive into forgotten sources and forward thinking explorations.
In 2018, the Cincinnati Art Museum invited Future Retrieval to mine its decorative arts and design collection and identify objects from the storage vaults to serve as catalysts for the anachronistic exploration at the heart of the artists’ practice. Parker and Davis were assigned two galleries to use as project spaces where they would show their work in combination with the museum’s objects that inspired and, in many cases, completed new pieces. The resulting mashup has injected fresh interest and meaning into objects that have, in the past, undeservedly been overlooked.
For this exhibition, Future Retrieval will take over two museum galleries as project spaces where they will construct an unconventional response to objects “borrowed” from the Cincinnati Art Museum’s decorative art and design collection. In pairing their own work with objects from the museum’s collection, the artists will create an experience that encourages visitors to consider aspects of our historical collections and practices in a new light.
Exhibition Catalog - link
Exhibition Website - link