The Stitch and Mold Show is a two artist exhibition featuring 2 unique form of art the first being a mixed media fiber work by Robert Hoffman and the second story telling ceramics exhibition A Series of Emotional Responses to Exceptional Events by Gil Grimmett

Gil Grimmett’s Series of Emotional Responses to Exceptional Events are sculpted ceramic masks that draw their inspiration from a variety of African and African derivative mask-making traditions and design motifs. Specifically, there are stylistic quotes from Songye portrait shields from the Congo, Baule portrait shields from Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire and Zulu war shields from South Africa. The masks are self-referential. Each emotion is modeled after my own reflection, taking liberties with the details to achieve similar yet different masks.

Each mask is then mounted in the center of a wooden frame. With their markings and rough surface treatment these frames evoke an urban architecture weathered by time and the elements. The composition makes use of upcycled urban objects gathered from the streets of Brooklyn and Baltimore including: rusted nails, wire, scrap metal, wire mesh and barbed wire. Then they are painted black…

Robert Hoffman’s exhibition of work is a combination of mixed media, self taught fiber work and collaging to create and reveal simple,surreal, common and at times obscure narratives that are played out in a world known to the birds he create.

Robert uses the same ideas he does in all of my work, the imagery in each work portrays aspects of travel, home, companionship, love and other narratives that his feel his birds would encounter and be involved in while living their lives.