Flow is the first word that comes to mind when viewing the new collection of works at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The three exhibitions on display beginning March 7 each encourage the viewer to contemplate their relationship to water—its presence within us and around us and the myriad ways in which it shapes our past and future.
“We’re dealing with water, and it really has given us the opportunity to explore themes of water—yes H2O, the actual element—but also ecology, intersection of local and global artistic practices, and the idea of what water can mean to us emotionally as well as physically,” says Lisa Melandri, executive director of CAM.
Stay up-to-date with the local arts scene
Subscribe to the weekly St. Louis Arts+Culture newsletter to discover must-attend art exhibits, performances, festivals, and more.
Like Water dominates the space, filling the first floor of the museum with works by a multigenerational, international group of artists working across mediums. Visitors can step inside a micro-gallery transformed by materials both natural and artificial with Candice Lin’s “La Charada China,” an immersive work that plays with the senses as it honors Chinese indentured laborers of the 1800s. Elsewhere, videos from Beatriz Santiago Muñoz place issues faced by contemporary Puerto Rico alongside the classical myth of Philoctetes while Dionne Lee’s videos and collages draw viewers into meditative patterns and hidden histories. In the central space, objects created by Jamal Cyrus and Simone Fattal pack layered meaning into collections of textiles and ceramics that seem to seamlessly flow together as one moves across the space.
Perhaps the most dominating feature of the exhibition is Vivian Suter’s collection of gestural painted canvases, hanging like the flags of many nations overhead and dividing the space in a colorful cascade that blends fluid movement and recognizable form. View them from the first floor, or take a look from the second floor walkway for a different perspective.
Part of a larger series called The Weather Inside, Like Water sees all of these artists thinking about the space where “a physical, material notion of landscape and an interior, emotional notion of landscape collide,” according to Ferring Foundation Chief Curator Dean Daderko.
READ MORE: 10 art exhibits to catch this month
Upstairs, the theme continues with two additional exhibitions: Make the River Present and ArtReach: Confluence. The first, organized by CAM director of learning and engagement Michelle Dezember and independent curator Allena Brazier, encourages deep connection with the region’s waterways. Through artworks, poetry, and activities that particularly center Indigenous and African-American perspectives, this concise collection facilitates reflection on our place beside the mighty Mississippi and Missouri rivers. CAM will also host several excursions over the coming months to complement the works, including a water ceremony (June 13), riverboat trip (June 14), and walk across the Eads Bridge (August 2).
“[This exhibition and program series] is grounded by individuals whose cultural stories, knowledge, and creative efforts help us remember our vital connection to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers,” Dezember says.
This season’s ArtReach project encouraged students from CAM’s partner institutions, Sumner and Vashon High Schools, to consider water as a medium, work in a “flow state,” and develop works using recycled plastics to create a collection of pieces that are united under the theme of “confluence.’’ Led by resident teaching artists Dee Levang, Adrienne Outlaw, and Rodrick Whetstone, the students have developed a strong body of work that works well alongside the professional exhibitions featured in the museum.
“We have Like Water, we have Make the River Present, we have Confluence. We’ve got water, the rivers, the ecologies all day long at CAM, and together they really do complement one another,” Melandri says.
Spring/Summer Exhibitions open at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis March 7 and run through August 10. An opening reception for all three exhibitions will be held March 7 from 6–9 p.m.
