Clay, textile, paper, glass, wood, and found objects are materials that artist Chandra Rice uses to explore ideas of power, love, and connection.
With her new body of work Regalia: Nature AdorNed, she blends two of the oldest forms of art - the vessel and adornment - to express the powerful beauty of the natural world and the human desire to both adore and adorn; to be adored and to be adorned.
The work was shown in January 21 to February 28, 2023 at the Museo Civico Archeologico Isidoro Falchi, Vetulonia Tuscany Italy.
Artist’s Statement
As women, in our search to be seen as equals, in our fight to break out of the confinement of narrowly defined roles, in our desire to be taken seriously, many of us (and our culture at large) have lost touch with the power that comes from Woman.
’Woman’ is not she who has a female body or identity, but anyone who feels in themselves the force of this power.
Woman is fragility and openness, soothing and caring, creation and flow, listening and sharing, pain and suffering, and birthing and nurturing.
It is the power of home, of hearth, of family, of feeling. It is domesticity, stewardship, and community. It is woven through our lives in slow repetitive cycles.
This exhibition is a celebration of that power; and a reminder to be fierce and bold and adventurous in exalting it.
Six groups of work explore an aspect of feminine power and embody that power through various adornments, vessels, and photographs, as well as a poem and a video.
The choice of process and materials - focusing on the domestic arts and slow repetitive processes - is a conscious return to the work of our grandmothers and our grandmother’s grandmothers.
With this exhibition, I hope to remind us of the power and beauty that is inside of us.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to:
Rhiannon Rice - for being my model
Jake Rice - for taking and editing the drone videos
Roberta Ronconi - for helping with the translation
Johanna Ekmark - for taking the photos of the exhibition
Robin and Jim Rice - for helping with the installation of the exhibit
L’Artista, Sulla Mostra
Come donne, nella nostra ricerca di parità, nella nostra lotta per uscire da ruoli definiti, nel nostro desiderio di essere prese sul serio, abbiamo involontariamente sottratto forza al potere che viene dall'essere Donna. "Donna" non è chi ha corpo o identità di donna, ma chiunque senta in sé la forza di questo potere.
La donna è fragilità e apertura, calma e premura, creazione e flusso, ascolto e condivisione, dolore e sofferenza, parto e nutrimento.
È il potere della casa, del focolare, della famiglia, del sentimento. È domesticità, cura della comunità. Cresce attraverso le nostre vite in cicli lenti e ripetitivi.
Questa mostra è una celebrazione di quel potere; un promemoria per ricordarci di essere audaci e avventurose nell'esaltarlo.
Ciascuno dei sei gruppi di "Regàlia" esplora un aspetto del potere femminile, incarnandolo attraverso vari ornamenti, vasi e fotografie, oltre ad una poesia e ad un video.
La scelta dei materiali - concentrata sulle arti domestiche e su processi lenti e ripetitivi - è un consapevole ritorno al lavoro delle nostre antenate.
Con la mia mostra, spero di evocare la bellezza di chi siamo.
Each of the following circles is a portal to view a group of work
