New Work: Tiago Carneiro da Cunha and Klara Kristalova narrows the lens on the reinvigorated medium of ceramics in recent art practice. Carneiro da Cunha lives and works in Brazil, and Kristalova is based in Sweden, but, despite these far-flung regions, the artists work in a strikingly similar vein. Each calls upon ceramics' connection to childhood craft activities, making work with echoes of characters from fairy tales or comic books and formally have the feel of a child's project. Yet in each instance, the elements of humor and delight give way to troubling visions. Both artists intentionally invoke childhood as a means of subverting assumed innocence and raising serious and often unsettling questions about the way history is learned and may be repeated by subsequent generations. This exhibition is organized by Alison Gass, assistant curator of painting and sculpture, as part of SFMOMA's ongoing New Work series.
