The Everson Museum of Art will present the exhibition "Anne Cofer: Concealed Objects" by
Anne Cofer G'05, winner of the Best-of-Show Award in the 2008 Everson Biennial and a
faculty member in Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), Feb.
7-April 26 at the museum, 401 Harrison St., Syracuse.
An opening night lecture by Cofer and a reception will be held Friday, Feb. 6, at 5:30 p.m.
The lecture and reception are free for Everson members and $10 for non-members.
"By successfully using unfired clay in new and exciting ways, Cofer has transcended the
boundaries of what has been acceptable in traditional ceramic practice within the academic
world," says Debora Ryan, the Everson's senior curator.
Cofer is a faculty member in the fiber arts/material studies program in VPA's School of Art
and Design. Her interest in materials and artistic processes is evident in "Concealed
Objects," a provocative new site-specific installation created for her first solo museum
exhibition at the Everson. She creates objects that exist for a moment and place in time and
are then recycled and reused for other projects.
The installation designed for the Everson is composed of skirt forms constructed of cloth and
wet clay suspended from the ceiling in grid fashion. The skirts, arranged in perfect harmony
within the space that contains them, appear to float in contradiction to the heavy clay that
pulls them downward. Each garment is cut from a Victorian-era dress pattern (ca. 1895)
combined with wet clay and modeled by hand to capture every fold of the fabric as it
cascades to the floor. The repetition of form and motion recalls the monotonous tasks of
domestic chores that have existed for centuries without change. Cofer assigns new meaning
to the found and recycled fabrics she chooses for the garments: the bed linens, table cloths,
furniture upholstery and well-worn clothing conceal the individual histories, memories and
stories untold about their previous owners.
Cofer, who received an M.F.A. in fiber arts from VPA in 2005, took first prize at the 2005
National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) student exhibition for "Daily
Toil," a series of 40 unfired clay slabs draped in muslin and suspended over wire.
Cofer's exhibition is made possible in part by Clayscapes Pottery Inc.
The Everson is open to the public Tuesday-Friday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m., and Saturday,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5 per person. For more
information, visit http://www.everson.org.
