Ceramic sculpture and textile artist Jade Ariah has “been cooking” her first solo exhibition for the last three years — pun intended.
“Things My Mother Taught Me (How To Have A Good Party)” will be on display at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art Feb. 2 through Feb. 23. The show is a series of ceramic and textile sculptures highlighting the storytelling of family through food and everyday objects, Ariah says.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about intergenerational trauma and the resilience of generations of women in my family,” Ariah said. “Women who endured the repeating patterns of domestic violence, navigated substance use disorders of their loved ones and addictions of their own, who hosted dinner parties and planned birthday celebrations, wrote their recipes down in shaky cursive on notecards.”
“I wonder, what of their experiences have been passed to me?” Ariah continued. “Is there a difference between my own memories and theirs, if both have left an impact on me all the same?”
Ariah grew up in a house that strongly nurtured her art; she was selling pieces around the age of 11 or 12, and had exhibitions in coffee shops around town in high school, she said. She wasn’t sure when she started college at UAA if she would pursue an art degree, but now she cannot imagine a life without art in the middle.
Following graduation, Ariah has been working in the handbuilding studio on campus, and is appreciative to share the space with so many other hard working artists.
“Lots of things inspire me too, visually I really love color and patterns and am drawn to a lot of 60s/70s imagery and aesthetics specifically,” Ariah said. “The content of my work is influenced by anything and everything I am experiencing during that time. That sounds really broad but it’s true. I use art as a way to process information and feelings, to play and meditate. It’s just like a very integral part of my experience as a person.”
Ariah says “Things My Mother Taught Me (How To Have A Good Party)” is extremely colorful, with a “utopian, plasticky looking” vibe.
“I covered a pedestal in green shag carpet referencing the grass in Teletubbyland and at the same time, there’s an inflatable pool full of cigarette butts,” Ariah said. “It’s meant to be a little funny, and some of it a little sad. I think that summarizes the complexity of relationships with family members and how they shape us.”
Fellow UAA graduate and ceramicist, Amy Schilling has a solo exhibition in the Center gallery at IGCA, Ariah said, and encourages folks to check out her work alongside her own during February.
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.