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New art exhibition explores relationships outside of romance

Art piece.

Photo by Julia Featheringill/Stewart Clements

2 min read

In a new exhibition at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, installation artist Jonathan Berger uses words and sculpture to explore the importance of relationships beyond romance between individuals, and between people and their environments, based on oral histories and interviews with colleagues, friends, and community members.

The exhibition, “An Introduction to Nameless Love,” is co-presented by the Carpenter Center and PARTICIPANT Inc. in New York and is a culmination of four years of conversations between Berger and his interview subjects, including designers Charles and Ray Eames, and Shaker Brother Arnold Hadd. Berger turned the text of those conversations into large-scale sculptures made up of small tin letters supported by nickel wires.

“An Introduction to Nameless Love” showcases Berger’s multifaceted approach to research, communication, and curatorial design, asking the viewer to both read the words on display and to see the sculptures as works of art.

The exhibition is curated by Dan Byers, John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Director of the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, and Lia Gangitano, founder and director of PARTICIPANT Inc., New York City.

“An Introduction to Nameless Love” is on view at Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts through Dec. 29, 2019 and at PARTICIPANT Inc. from Feb. 23 through April 5, 2020..