Artist Andi Crist moves from support to star in new exhibit
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Andi Crist in the piece "Forever Fetish (Chair") and "Single Use Fireplace." Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios
After years of supporting other artists behind the scenes, Andi Crist's work is the main attraction in her first major exhibition.
The big picture: As an arts preparator, Crist is one of the unseen forces that bring an exhibition together, and the Chicago artist taps into that concept of labor with her new show "Live, Laugh, Labor: Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths," featuring all of her own work.
Between the lines: Crist tells Axios she didn't resent being the person behind the scenes. In fact, it's a skill she proudly embraces.
- "I was the one building the walls and the pedestals and framing things ... it was very fulfilling for me to help kind of connect those dots."
Zoom in: Crist's "Artist's Ladder" incorporates the duality of her role as artist and laborer as her body forms one side of a ladder, with leather straps looped around her hips to create the necessary balance to make the ladder fully functional.
- Ceramic bright orange tangled extension cords line the entire length of the exhibit. Crist describes these as the "bread and butter" of her studio practice, fun works she's been able to sell over the past few years to help fund the creation of more work.
If you go: The opening reception for "Live, Laugh, Labor: Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths" is 5-7pm Saturday at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in Glen Ellyn. Admission is free.
- The exhibit runs through Jan. 11.