September 24th, 2019
SAINT PETER, MINN. – Three St. Peter artists have joined forces to create an exhibition of ceramic sculpture exploring death and the gifts it offers the living in “Holding Space: Talking About Death,” on display at the Arts Center of Saint Peter October 4-26, 2019.
“I latched onto this concept that death stimulates life,” said Stephanie Bové, whose sculptures suggest items floating in space, sending gifts. “Death fertilizes the ground to nourish the new; it holds space for new beginnings. Death is the most certain thing in life. This work is the practice of holding space for the grief and the loss, holding space for the necessity of it, and for the benefits of its function.”
Caitlin Heyer, whose sculptures include Canopic jars—crafted by ancient Egyptians store organs for the afterlife, as part of the mummification process— says “…the ways people treat the bodies of those they didn’t know can be radically different than their treatment of the ones they love. At what point do our empty shells lose their worth and become no more noteworthy than the dirt they lie in?”
Jan Waller’s pieces, inspired by friends and family, explore the human form and spirit, pointing toward memories and legacies of the deceased. “My hope is that we can know that every moment is to be savored, each one of us is unique, special, worthy, loved and enough, death is part of life and each person who dies holds a special space within those of us who remain,” Waller says.
The public is invited to the opening reception for the exhibition on Saturday, October 5, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. with remarks by the artists at 5:30 p.m. The public is also invited to a Death Café — a salon-style conversation about death, grief, and the specific themes explored in the exhibition — on Saturday, October 19, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
The Arts Center’s galleries are free, wheelchair-accessible. Summer gallery hours are Wednesday though Friday 1-5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday 1-5 p.m.