Joann Quiñones’ exhibition is based on the concept of the grotto, an artificial or natural cavern used for both sanctuary and devotion. Rich in iconography and symbolism, La Gruta/The Grotto holds figurative sculptures, including “relics,” that explore the intricacies of race, class, gender, sexuality and religion — concepts that are highly ritualized. The work in the exhibition is an invitation to contemplate narratives of the domestic, family, and womanhood and how they are complicated by a history of slavery, stolen labor, and racism, particularly in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

In addition to these concepts, the materials selected by the artist have historical and personal significance. According to Quiñones, “I work with all materials, but consider ceramics and fibers to be foundational to my process and thinking because of their long history and aesthetic traditions in places like West Africa, Spain and the Americas.”

Joann Quiñones (they/them) is a mixed media artist who creates figurative work in order to explore Afro-Latinx identity. They were selected as an Emerging Artist of 2020 by Ceramics Monthly, were a Manifest Gallery Annual Prize Finalist, and received an Honorable Mention for the James Renwick Alliance Chrysalis Award. Their work has been shown nationally, including in the 2020 NCECA Annual Exhibition, The Burdens of History. Quiñones has an MFA in Studio Art from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa. They are currently an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Alfred University, NY.

For high-resolution images, click here. Artist bio and additional images are available on our website. For a PDF of the press release, click here.

{not} Quiet on the Western Front includes work by west coast artists from the Belger Collection who helped define the Funk Art movement. Funk came onto the art scene like a car wreck with its anti-formalist aesthetic, tongue-in-cheek commentary, irreverent character, and humor. Invoking a sense of cathartic release to the violent times of the 1960s, it was an alternative to mainstream art that made political commentary on war, gender, racial tension, and other social threats palatable. While its point of origin can be traced to 1950s northern California, the attitudes and approaches of Funk artists spread to other parts of the country and lives on in work by contemporary artists today.

Artists in the exhibition include Robert Arneson, Clayton Bailey, Viola Frey, David Gilhooly, Robert Hudson, Ed Kienholz, Ed Massey, Ron Nagle, H.C. Westermann, and William T. Wiley.

This exhibition is dedicated to William T. Wiley, a founder of the Funk Art movement, and a core artist of the Belger Collection. After a long and successful career, which included teaching at the University of California – Davis, he died on April 25, 2021, at the age of 83. He will be missed.

The CURATOR’S CHOICE exhibition features multiple curators selections from the Studios Inc Collection. The participating curators will share what and why they chose a specific piece to showcase from the collection. Similar to the previous exhibition, THROUGH THE EYES OF A COLLECTOR, this exhibition will highlight different perspectives and reactions to artworks in the Studios Inc Collection.