Julie Green spent 22 years hand painting the last meals of death row inmates on nearly 1,000 ceramic plates. Her installation, The Last Supper, reveals intimate details behind their requests.
Rebirth showcases Gary Tyler’s art, developed over 40 years of wrongful incarceration during which he taught himself quilting in the African American tradition depicting family histories, Southern landscapes and reflections of freedom.
Ray Materson’s collection, Metamorphosis, offers the Michigan artist’s intricate embroidered miniatures created from unraveled socks in a technique he developed while serving a prison sentence.
“Art and creativity can help not only us as individuals, grapple with really difficult experiences and trauma, but can also help us as a community talk about these really difficult subjects.”
GRAM’s Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Jennifer Wcisel explains the common thread running through the works of the three artists.
“We've learned that one in three Americans has a criminal record. Fifty percent of us know someone who is incarcerated or has been incarcerated. And it's something that we often don't want to think about in our daily lives, but something that we should be aware of because it's happening to our friends and family and neighbors.”
The exhibitions are now open at the GRAM, with Green’s Last Supper running through October 24 and the others through January 3.
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