A reverence for nature and a desire to further enliven the surrounding trails, pastures, and woods inspired Ground/work—the Clark’s first outdoor exhibition in 2020. Building on a history of collaboration with contemporary artists, the Clark commissioned Kelly Akashi, Nairy Baghramian, Jennie C. Jones, Eva LeWitt, Analia Saban, and Haegue Yang to create new works of art in active dialogue with the Clark’s specific environment. This second iteration, Ground/work 2025, features specially-commissioned works located throughout the grounds, and the landscape. For the 2025 exhibition, the focus is on global conceptions of craft: the means by which artists transform the world around them. In Eurocentric art history, it has long been accepted practice to draw a firm line between craft and fine art. In many parts of the world, however, no distinction exists; rather, there is a holistic domain of making and meaning. In surveying craft across cultures and practices, Ground/work 2025 aims to transcend the binary question—"Is it art or is it craft?”—and instead highlight craft as a motor for artistic expression. The exhibition foregrounds the international diversity in craft, with a range of artists critically reflecting on the traditions that inform their skilled making. The six participating artists represent a diversity of geography, materiality, ethnicity, gender, and generation, and each possesses a craft-intensive practice as well as an informed and dynamic relationship to national or regional traditions, exemplifying the way that artisanal traditions can be reinvented to generate contemporary form and meaning.
Ground/work 2025 is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by independent curator Glenn Adamson. Ground/work 2025 is made possible by Denise Littlefield Sobel. Major funding is provided by the Edward and Maureen Fennessy Bousa Fund for Contemporary Projects, Karen and Robert Scott, and VIA Art Fund, with additional support from Girlfriend Fund, Agnes Gund, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
