“2024 Alumni Exhibition” Cleveland Institute of Art

“2024 Alumni Exhibition” Cleveland Institute of Art

June 21 – August 9, 2024

Guest Curated by Magdalena Moskalewicz

Magdalena Moskalewicz, PhD is an art historian, curator, and author. Moskalewicz worked at collecting, exhibiting, and higher education institutions internationally, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 56th Venice Biennale curator Polish Pavilion, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, among others, and most recently was the Chief Curator of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial of Contemporary Art.

“Skins and Vessels”

Babs Reingold creates site-specific installations and layered multimedia assemblages employing drawing, painting, sculpture, found objects and video to re-examine perceptions of prevailing socio-political and environmental issues employing references to the body, with themes of climate change and poverty.

Reingold states: “Drawing from personal experiences with poverty, the work initiates an exploration of the intricate interplay between greed, environmental decline, and its aftermath, poverty”. Over decades, she has honed a unique staining technique involving the decadence of three-dimensional objects using rust, tea, salt water, fresh water, fabric, thread and yarn, resulting in surfaces imbued with new meaning through decay and staining.

Specifically, the series “Skin Tree and Vessel” and “Double Vessel” assemblages offer commentary on humanity and the delicate equilibrium of biodiversity in nature. She states: “Through the metaphor of skin, symbolizing the fragile boundary between outward appearance and hidden truths, I delve into the exploration of concealed layers and secrets”.

Central to the work is a profound concern for the environment and the socio-political structures perpetuating its degradation. Her work does not offer solutions but rather underscores the stark reality that by destroying the environment, we ultimately destroy ourselves.

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