Tradition Interrupted

Image credit: Mounir Fatmi, Maximum Sensation, 2016, Skateboards, prayer rugs, approximately 90" H x 192" L x 12" D. 

Exhibit Details

August 19, 2023 - November 12, 2023
Eldredge, Spratlen, and Armstrong Galleries

Tradition Interrupted is an international group exhibition that explores the methods used by artists to conflate contemporary ideas with traditional art and craft in a range of media, from rugs and mosaics to metalwork and ceramics. The eleven featured artists merge age-old media and technique with innovation, and re-visioning culturally historic ideas to create new work that interrupt traditional practice but still collaborates with the past. 

For generations, traditional craft and art practices held steadfast and often visually defined a culture. Today, artists are unraveling certain traits and facets of these ancient customs to redefine or reclaim them for the contemporary world. For many of the artists in Tradition Interrupted, everyday objects are sources of powerful agency to recall memories in danger of being forgotten, or to call into question revisionist histories. Many of the artists work in a conceptually “uncomfortable” space with the traditions and theories of their past as they create hybrid artworks that address contemporary concepts and concerns.

This traveling exhibition features approximately 22 works including sculpture, installation art, and 2-D objects. Featured artists hail from around the world and include: Anila Quayyum Agha (Pakistan), Faig Ahmed (Azerbaijan), Camille Eskell (U.S.), Mounir Fatmi (Morocco), Ana Gómez (Mexico), Shirin Hosseinvand (Iran), Dinh Q. Lê (Vietnam), Steven Young Lee (U.S.), Jaydan Moore (U.S.), Ramekon O’Arwisters (U.S.), Jason Seife (U.S.), and Masami Teraoka (Japan).  

Tradition Interrupted was organized by Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.

Exhibit Resources

Tradition Interrupted at Bedford Gallery

Related Programs

Slow Viewing with Shauna LeAnn Smith: F-Ezra Made a Woman by Camille Eskell
Wednesday, August 16, 6:00 PM

Slow Viewing is a supportive practice for anyone who wants to develop their skills of interpretation, observation, and discussing art. Guests spend an hour carefully observing and speaking about the works on view, resulting in a deeper understanding of how they and others relate to the artwork and to each other. This program is facilitated by artist Shauna LeAnn Smith. This program is free, but space in-gallery is limited so registration is required.