The College of Wooster Art Museum fall exhibit highlights the impact of everyday containers

This fall, The College of Wooster Art Museum (CWAM) is displaying the exhibition, “CONTAINED: The Art of Holding it Together” in the Sussel Gallery of the Ebert Art Center through Dec. 9. Curated by CWAM director Marianne Eileen Wardle and designed and installed by preparator and collections manager Doug McGlumphy, “CONTAINED” displays vessels from around the world, spanning over 3,500 years of history and ranging from goblets from 16th century B.C.E. Jordan to 14th century Peruvian jugs to 20th century American teapots.

“Containers are something we use every day and maybe overlook. I hope that after seeing these objects, we will return to our daily lives and pay a little more attention to the way that containers make our lives easier and have connected us to others—our friends and families, but maybe someone on the other side of the world who made the thing we are using.” Wardle explained.

Chosen from the College’s collections, which include over 400 containers, nearly all the items on display in the exhibition were gifts from donors to the College, which Wardle says, “marks relationships of trust and care” and can provide “a history of the college itself—those who were educated here or who developed relationships with the college as they chose to settle in Wooster later in life.”

In addition to the main exhibit, the CWAM will host a pop-up exhibit from Oct. 4 through 23 in the Burton Gallery titled “Delicious Dishes: Serveware, Stories, and Recipes” where College staff will share their favorite recipe and the container in which they make, serve, or share the food. This pop-up exhibit celebrates the College’s community through recipes and their containers.

In addition to “CONTAINED,” the CWAM is hosting “Global Bites,” where students from different countries share information about their culture and its food, with food tastings accompanying each event. The next Global Bites event will take place Thursday, Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. in the Burton Gallery.

The CWAM will also be partnering with the Wayne Center for the Arts for a project entitled “Out of the Box.”  Participants can pick up a small wooden crate from the Wayne Center for the Arts’ Fall Fest, held Oct. 8 from noon to 4 p.m., transform it into a new object or artwork, and return it to the art museum at the beginning of November. These creations will be installed in a short pop-up exhibition in mid-November.

The CWAM is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. All exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. For additional information, or to find out more about museum events, visit the CWAM website or call 330-263-2495.

Photo: Charles Counts, American, Teapot, 20th century. Stoneware with glaze. Evin C. Varner Collection of Contemporary Ceramics, 1986.67.

Posted in News on October 4, 2022.