"Nostalgia Machines"

David Winton Bell Gallery 

List Art Center, Brown University, 64 College Street, Providence, RI   (view map)

Know how an iPad works? Me neither. The thing’s a beautiful mystery slab that hides its accomplishments behind a shiny screen. So entrenched are we in digital toys these days that when we actually see the mechanical whir of a machine’s operation, it takes on the persona of an ancient artifact. In “Nostalgia Machines” at Brown Univer-sity’s David Winton Bell Gallery, 64 College Street, Providence, Meridith Pingree, Jasper Rigole, Jonathan Schipper, Gregory Witt, and Zimoun incorporate simple machinery into pieces that conjure a whiff of yesteryear. “Each artist allows the mechanics of the sculpture to be visible, effecting an atmosphere of reflection or reminiscence, rather than the forward-looking quality normally associated with technology,” says the gallery’s Maya Allison. “The texture of the sculptures’ gears and wires are key to the works’ evocative power.” The exhibit runs through February 19 | 401.863.2932 | brown.edu/Facilities/David_Winton_Bell_Gallery

Works that “explore the intersection of nostalgia and technology in contemporary sculpture” by Meridith Pingree, Jasper Rigole, Jonathan Schipper, Gregory Witt, and Zimoun