Animal Magnetism: Sculpture from RAM’s Collection

June 2 – October 21, 2012

Michael Lucero
Chihuahua in a Teacup Teapot from the New World Series, 1993
Glazed white earthenware
14 x 9 x 8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Linda Brooks Sullivan
Photography: Michael Tropea, Chicago

Animal Magnetism: Sculpture from RAM’s Collection highlights selected artworks from the Racine Art Museum’s permanent craft collection that respond to the wonder, mystery, and presence of the natural world by incorporating animals into their artistic explorations as subject, pattern, decoration, and symbol.

Animals have long been utilized as “characters” in cultural stories, myths, and visual imagery. Museums are often full of objects and images that incorporate animals—on the periphery of human-focused stories, as primary characters, as compositional elements in pattern and design, and to provide material elements (e.g. leather, bone, feather, and fish skin). Whether acting as symbols for ideas or human personality types, or representing the animal kingdom more directly, animals play important roles in our social fabric as well as our everyday lives.

Presenting 75 works of clay, glass, polymer, and metal from 57 artists, this exhibition features primarily three-dimensional works that reference or incorporate animals. A companion exhibition at RAM’s Wustum Museum includes mainly two-dimensional works that use animals as subject matter. Both exhibitions, drawn from RAM’s collection, highlight a diversity of materials and a variety in approaches to one topic.

More About the Exhibition

Press Room

Artists in the Exhibition

Ralph Bacerra, Carolyn Morris Bach, Boris Bally, Susan Beiner, Christopher A. Berti, Christina Bothwell, Ken Bova, Frank Boyden, Pierre Cavalan, Phillip Cornelius, Cristina Cordova, Jaclyn Davidson, Jack Earl, Kenneth Ferguson, Lisa Fidler, Gwen Gibson, David James Gihooly, Linda Goff, Danielle Gori-Montanelli, Geoffrey Gorman, Chris Griffin, Jon Groth, Laurie J. Hall, Laurie Hogin, Eric Hopkins, Robert Hudson, Jeff Irwin, Margaret Ponce Israel, Janel Jacobson, Donna Kato, Esther Knobel, Mark Kobasz, David Levi, Harvey K. Littleton, Ken Loeber, Michael Lucero, Maggie Maggio, Wendy Wallin Manilow, Deborah Masouka, Dennis Meiners, Ronald G. Meyers, Carol Moty, Douglas Peck, Bill Reid, Gehard Ribka, Nan Roche, ROY, Red Weldon Sandlin, Scott Schoenherr, Sandy Shaw, Kiff Slemmons, Bill Stewart, Lizbeth Stewart, Mara Superior, Susan Thayer, Alan Burton Thompson, Cynthia Toops, David Williamson, Roberta Williamson, and Hiroshi Yamano