Material Systems

MICA’s first exhibition of 2025, Material Systems, opened on January 17 at the Lazarus Center in Station North. More than just an exploration of materiality, the show serves as a case study in how artists navigate the balance between control and unpredictability in their processes. Curated by Alex Ebstein and James Williams II at MICA’s Leidy Gallery and Sheila & Richard Riggs Gallery, the exhibition brings together 13 artists whose works transform raw materials into layered investigations of form, surface, and meaning.

Following a Rinehart MFA showcase, Material Systems presents a show with a deliberate curatorial vision. The exhibition sets a confident tone for the year, emphasizing artistic process while maintaining conceptual rigor. While “materiality” as a curatorial theme can sometimes feel overly broad, the press release frames it as a prompt for student artists to consider the conceptual weight of their materials. It’s rousing to see new curatorial work from James Williams II, a 2022 Sondheim Award winner and MICA faculty member since 2020, and Alex Ebstein, whose past roles at Nudashank and Resort placed her at the center of Baltimore’s once-thriving alternative gallery scene alongside spaces like Springsteen, Rowhouse Project, and Current Space (the only survivor of that era).

In my view, the exhibition is great start to the new year for Baltimore, it ultimately achieves its goal of exhibiting a broad range of mediums and approaches to artmaking through more than a dozen artist with unique approaches. These modes of making range from the ancient and classic ceramics and oil to the more contemporary forms of digital animation and 3D printing while maintaining a cohesion only achievable by seasoned curators.

The use of ceramics in this show is invigorating and really does end up being used on a broad range of applications. Works like those by E.E. Ikeler and Saskia Krafft reimagine the material into parts and pieces to be used in a greater whole. E.E. Ikeler makes works that have a visual relationship to mosaic while Krafft’s works fall much more into the broad category of mixed-media sculpture, building physical depth with ceramic components as well as plasma cut steel, cotton and silk. Ikeler, a 2016 Yale grad, has a few pieces in this show and they all work abstractly but utilize the theme of the net/undulating grid. While the works may not inspire deep introspection (and such a response isn't necessarily the goal of art), they offer a fresh take on mosaic tilework, a process that is not often used in ways that might be considered innovative.

E.E. Ikeler, "Untitled" (2020), Latex enamel, net, hand cast tiles and resin on ACM panel, 24" x 21" (photo take from artists website)

E.E. Ikeler, "Untitled" (detail), (2020), Latex enamel, net, hand cast tiles and resin on ACM panel, 24" x 21"

On the other hand, Saskia Krafft, an LA-based Columbia graduate (‘19), uses ceramic and plasma-cut steel not unlike Ebstein uses ceramics. While the metal and clay are sometimes used in an almost ornamental way, they are largely used in these works as parts and pieces, not unlike building blocks you may play with as a child (albeit with a much more sophisticated process of construction.) Her work’s construction evokes that of artist Elise Thompson whose works often layer acrylic, vinyl, paper, and glass beads to create paintings that do not have the representational quality of Krafft’s work but create a similar depth of field that is simultaneously exciting but not overwhelming. While Thompson’s work is less representational it also creates a less clear sense of depth, one that is more vague and hazy, while Krafft’s work, though at times chaotic, feels layered in a way that is more in the service of creating a scene or a representation of some thing. In simple terms, Krafft’s work falls into the category of abstraction while Thompson’s work would be more accurately described as non-objective. In both Thompson and Krafft’s work the choice of material feels not only intentional but well thought out.

Saskia Krafft, "Between Homes" (2023), glazed ceramics, silk organza, painted and plasma-cut steel, screen print on cotton, oak, 40” x 30” (photo taken from artists website)

Elisa Soliven, "Aster Body Totem" (2021), Glazed ceramic, 47” x 20” x 11”

Elisa Soliven, a Brooklyn based Hunter graduate (‘11) who showed at the aforementioned Nudashank in 2012, has a collection of ceramic totems and busts in the exhibition. On Testudo Soliven’s work is described as “looking to ancient structures and formal qualities” and points out that “Soliven imbues her sculptural portraits with talismanic qualities.” To this end, there is certainly a visual kinship to early Cycladic and Egyptian figures - simplified and frontal facing with crossed arms. Soliven’s work is a much more traditional use of clay, utilizing a stacked/sectional technique that has long been a popular way for ceramic artists to build scale, Viola Frey being a prime example of this. The work is emblematic of the faux naif style that has become so dominant not only in New York but in most, if not all, viable markets for ceramic art. The impression of fingers pinching the clay, coils that create squares and grids, and carved vertical lines all fulfill the mandate of highlighting recognizable qualities of the material but the surface feels like it falls a bit short of its full potential. While Soliven’s glazes highlight some of the textural qualities of their work, the application feels less intentional compared to artists like Ruby Neri or Laurent Nicolas, whose surfaces establish a clearer relationship between form and finish. In Aster Body Totem there doesn’t appear to be much layering of glaze, there are sections of subtle color that fill in the recessed squares but the entire piece is covered in a clear or celadon glaze that doesn’t have ties to the traditional use of celadons and doesn’t have much of a wow-factor. Admittedly, Soliven’s Aster Bust #11 uses glaze in a much more painterly way. There is a greater variety of color in this piece and we get to see matte and glossy surfaces as well as thinner and thicker applications of glaze.

Elisa Soliven, "Aster Bust #11" (2023), Glazed ceramic, 17" x 15" x 10"

Danni O'Brien, Baby Less Blue, 2023, Found diagram from "Contraception Naturally!: A Comprehensive Self-help Guide to Responsible Contraception from Your Kitchen", jar opener, ribbed plastic bowl, epoxy clay, paper pulp, pipe cleaners, Christmas bulbs, LED light, electrical cord, foam, wood, 35” x 40” x 7” (photo taken from artists website)

Danni O’Brian’s work, which has also utilized ceramic in unique and interesting ways in the past, does not utilize the material in her works within this show but does use epoxy clay in her work Baby Less Blue from 2023. I am curious if this material choice suggests she has found epoxy clay to be a more sensible material for her sculpture (there are many “disadvantages” to using ceramics if it is not absolutely necessary i.e. inevitable inconsistencies related to kiln firing and glazes) or if it just happened to be the right material for the specific piece. I generally find O’Brian’s work strikes a successful balance between giving the viewer sufficient information to be visually stimulating but leaving one with a sense of anxious mystery and her three pieces in the show follow this trend. On the first floor in the Sheila & Richard Riggs Gallery she has a piece that feels something like a cross between a cockroach designed by Boston Dynamics and a futuristic S&M device. She has a number of other works in the show that feel more familiar to me, wall works that take from the visual language of a range of diagrams (in this case an auto mechanics manual and a “Comprehensive Self-help Guide to Responsible Contraception from Your Kitchen) but for me it is O’Brian’s Tools for Introspection that is most striking. It hangs effectively as a central work not only in its physical location but also as a testament to a masterful merging of a number of different materials.

Danni O’Brian, Tool for Introspection (detail), 2023, Slingshot, exercise equipment pulls, push mower foam handles, tension band suspenders, fake fruits, six drain snakes, automotive tubing, gear rack, magnifying glass, spring, found plastic, puffy paint, epoxy, paint, 84” x 24” x 30”

Danni O’Brian, Tool for Introspection, 2023, Slingshot, exercise equipment pulls, push mower foam handles, tension band suspenders, fake fruits, six drain snakes, automotive tubing, gear rack, magnifying glass, spring, found plastic, puffy paint, epoxy, paint, 84” x 24” x 30”

Austin Lee, On The Way, 2023, painted bronze, 15” x 15” x 18”, edition of 24

Some other notable works include a painted bronze car by NY-based, Yale graduate (‘13) Austin Lee in his iconic style described by Observer in 2014 as as having “the awkward intuitiveness of a finger working an iPad.” and a skeleton covered in fiberglass images of money doing a wall-sit over a bed pan by Monsieur Zohore (MICA grad ‘20). Zohore is certainly one of the artists whose work appears to align strongly with the themes exhibition text emphasizing “additive processes” that “construct layer, and integrate materials into cohesive yet dynamic works…” While I don’t find to Zohore’s Tableaux/Vivant to be as compelling as his works on lower floor of the exhibition such as Get Well Soon, this strange and somewhat absurd gesture seems to create an important contrast with the rest of the exhibition which exists primarily on the wall.

Installation shot of Sheila & Richard Riggs Gallery

Monsieur Zohore, Get Well Soon, 1792-2024, Mixed media on canvas, 24” x 14”

With Material Systems opening the same weekend as art hall’s exhibition of selected works by Yoshitaka Amano, it feels safe to say that this is a good start for Baltimore. The works in this show absolutely span a wide range of approaches to making including found object sculpture, digital 3D modeling, ceramic and the more commonly found acrylic and oil paints. Even in the works that employ more traditional mediums, such as those by Michael Stamm and Andrew Hladky, the approach to the medium is one that is not chained to traditional use or purity of a single material. Stamm, whose work feels the most tied to traditional painting in the show, incorporates colored pencil, sand and putty into his acrylic paintings and Hladky incorporates bamboo sticks into his oil paintings. Hladky is a standout as well, what initially seemed like an overzealous pile of paint unfolds into a surprisingly delicate imagery embedded in a deep, textured surface that, like many of works in this show and contemporary art, blurs the line between painting and sculpture.

Material Systems successfully highlights the tension between control and unpredictability in material exploration. From Lee’s playful and ironic use of bronze to O’Brian’s deliberate and constructed use of wood, foam and a number of other materials, the exhibition demonstrates how materiality shapes artistic intent. While some works lean into material experimentation more effectively than others, the show as a whole underscores the curators’ commitment to process-driven art. As the city’s art scene evolves, Material Systems sets a compelling precedent for thoughtful curation and innovative material discourse. It is unclear if this will be the beginning of more curation from the Ebstein/Williams duo but for what it’s worth I wouldn’t mind if that were the case. While thoughtful curation in Baltimore does appear to remain tightly in the orbit of MICA galleries, faculty, students, and alumni it is nonetheless refreshing as an artist to be able to engage with work that is important in contemporary art dialogue without leaving the city.

While Baltimore awaits deeper institutional investment—perhaps exemplified by Gagosian-represented artist Derrick Adams’ $1 million grant—exhibitions like Material Systems prove that the city’s artists and curators are already pushing forward. More than just a showcase of process-driven works, the show highlights the strength of Baltimore’s curatorial landscape, foregrounding material exploration and the interplay between control and unpredictability. As Baltimore’s art scene continues to grow—often without the deep institutional backing of larger art hubs—exhibitions like Material Systems highlight the city’s resilience. Material Systems reinforces the importance of material discourse in contemporary practice and situates Baltimore within broader national conversation on craft, labor, and experimentation.