Columbia City Paper

By Judit trunkos

Art +Cayce is ready to open the new school year with graduating USC art student, Bri Kinard’s solo exhibition.

As a ceramic artist Kinard recently held her BFA show in the lobby of the Columbia Museum of Art. The exhibition consisted of ten large pieces made up of wooden structures with ceramic pieces hanging from them in front of what appeared to be slabs of thin stone.

Some of the pieces exhibited at Art + Cayce are from the Columbia Museum of Art show earlier this year.  Kinard’s work directly references often violent industrial objects and weapons. When paired with light organic pieces, the tools combine to create a beautiful yet tense duality between industrial and organic shapes.

The first impression of the large pieces is that they must have been alive once, but when studied closer, the viewer realizes that Kinard is playing with our senses. Walking around the gallery the viewer develops an “extra terrestrial” feeling about the artworks. Kinard’s hanging half-organic, half-artificial objects seem to want to come alive. Studying the pieces closer, the viewer discovers the details and the shades and colors of the pieces. Under the busy ceramics, unexpected objects such as an axe or a handgun can be seen under the glossy surfaces.

The Columbia native has always taken a unique approach to her art. “I’m still doing things you’re not supposed to do,” she says.

The exhibition can be viewed through August 31 with an opening reception on Thursday, August 12 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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