Five large handmade paper works by artist Rae Stern currently hang from the Sandler Family Campus’ Cardo ceiling. These unusual pieces are immediately visible upon entry of the building and are illuminated from behind with both natural and artificial light to enhance the layered images.
Stern’s work focuses on the elusive and ephemeral nature of memory as both a personal and universal phenomenon. The photographs that inspired these paper pieces were chosen by Stern out of the images she collected for her immersive installation Outside Time —which is on view at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia MOCA) through March 6 — as part of the exhibition Shaping Memories: Expression in Clay.
The illuminated youthful gazes of five young women are contrasted by the tragic events that unfolded in their lives before or after the photographs were taken. Stern wonders which medium is the most suitable for these fleeting memories. While juxtaposing the paper with works in porcelain, she asks, “If each material has its own set of vulnerabilities, which will outlast the other? How dependent is our collective memory on our choice of medium?
Visitors to the Sandler Family Campus may learn more about the exhibit by scanning a QR code in the gallery space.
Rae Stern employs digital tools in the manipulation of multiple media including ceramics, photography, paper, and textiles. After working for a decade in the high-tech industry, her work is concerned with the social and cultural effects of technology. Stern has received grants from Asylum Arts, the Schusterman Foundation, and Belger Arts.
Stern’s work has been exhibited internationally at the Eretz Israel Museum, (Tel Aviv, Israel), Belger Arts, (Kansas City, Mo.), Harvard University, (Cambridge, Mass.), and Medalta Museum, (Alberta, Canada). Her work is included in the collections of the Racine Art Museum (Racine, Wisc.) and The International Museum of Dinnerware Design (Ann Arbor, Mich.), as well as numerous private collections in Israel and the USA. Stern completed her undergraduate degree in psychology and communications at Tel Aviv University followed by a master’s degree in design from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.
Learn more about Stern’s works at: raesternstudio.com.