Reception for The Stacks at 224 by Forrest Sincoff Gard
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 5:00-7:00pm
The Stacks at 224 is an exhibition by Forrest Sincoff Gard, 2023-2024 Artist In Residence at the Office for the Arts Ceramics Program. The exhibition features all new work by Forrest that was conceptualized and made during his residency.
The Stacks is the newest addition to his Built to Play body of work, which highlights the importance of play throughout our entire lives. In the Built to Play series, Forrest focuses on the mundane parts of life, such as toasting a waffle, folding socks, or putting a book on a shelf. He turns those moments into ceramic art objects as well as risk-and-reward games that are specific for the gallery, often challenging expectations for that space.
Sincoff Gard drew inspiration for The Stacks from the bookshelves in his South End apartment as well as from Boston Public Library, Harvard’s Widener Library, and MassArt’s Morton R. Godine Library, which is where the artist collected discarded books that he used to make plaster molds. These molds were used to create the ceramic books on display. The Stacks also features other objects one might find inside a library—a large hand-built globe, a playable board game, and a wheel-thrown wall clock. Forrest’s decision to include an open plaster mold was inspired by the worktable seen on display as part of the Glass Flowers exhibition at Harvard’s Natural History Museum. He desires to share how the work was made and to remind viewers that these books were made out of clay.
During the reception, visitors had the chance to interact with the work by playing a stacking game. The player who made the tallest stack won a prize: their choice of book from the stack. There was no penalty for smashing a book.
ofa.fas.harvard.edu/ceramics/Gallery_224
Reception for The Stacks at 224 by Forrest Sincoff Gard
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 5:00-7:00pm
The Stacks at 224 is an exhibition by Forrest Sincoff Gard, 2023-2024 Artist In Residence at the Office for the Arts Ceramics Program. The exhibition features all new work by Forrest that was conceptualized and made during his residency.
The Stacks is the newest addition to his Built to Play body of work, which highlights the importance of play throughout our entire lives. In the Built to Play series, Forrest focuses on the mundane parts of life, such as toasting a waffle, folding socks, or putting a book on a shelf. He turns those moments into ceramic art objects as well as risk-and-reward games that are specific for the gallery, often challenging expectations for that space.
Sincoff Gard drew inspiration for The Stacks from the bookshelves in his South End apartment as well as from Boston Public Library, Harvard’s Widener Library, and MassArt’s Morton R. Godine Library, which is where the artist collected discarded books that he used to make plaster molds. These molds were used to create the ceramic books on display. The Stacks also features other objects one might find inside a library—a large hand-built globe, a playable board game, and a wheel-thrown wall clock. Forrest’s decision to include an open plaster mold was inspired by the worktable seen on display as part of the Glass Flowers exhibition at Harvard’s Natural History Museum. He desires to share how the work was made and to remind viewers that these books were made out of clay.
During the reception, visitors had the chance to interact with the work by playing a stacking game. The player who made the tallest stack won a prize: their choice of book from the stack. There was no penalty for smashing a book.
ofa.fas.harvard.edu/ceramics/Gallery_224