Made In__
Curator Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum
Oct 17th - Nov 9th 2025
Exhibition Statement
In this exhibition, “Made in __” goes beyond an indication for the place of production. It fosters into a pathway, where commerce leaves its tracks upon, craft is carried along, and records the meeting ground of culture and material. These labels remind of materials‘ global journey. They cross ports into artists’ studios and stimulate iterative experimentation, leading to potential cultural dialogues that transcends material’s locality.An early example of this statement could be seen in the birth of blue-and-white porcelain. With heavily referencing Islamic geometric patterns, these pieces made with Persian cobalt that arrived in China along the Silk Road in the Tang dynasty, entered glaze labs, and four centuries later found its place in Jingdezhen with high-temperature firing, becoming the form recognized today. The same trajectory appears in all art forms: silk from China reimagines European apparel; Middle Eastern tapestries widely inform world pattern-design; Water-based woodcut, upon arrival in Europe, Japanese ukiyo-e inspired Impressionism painters explore new ways to capture colors and lights.
Materials never carry linear messages. The interpretation is directed by personal background. Where materials are found, how they have been used, and what they are adapting to is the focus of this exhibition. “Made in __” brings together works of foregrounding material as message carriers that visualize either personal or collective narratives. What matters lies beyond the label? We invite you to look past it. Hear in these explorations, the materials used and their origins in interaction with makers from different backgrounds.
Collaborating curators: Cindy Ye, Ran Pang