Brought to the Table

Sunday, March 27th 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Virtual Opening and Lecture
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

New Work from Cranbrook Academy of Art Students and Artists-in-Residence 

Free Admission
Virtual Exhibition Ongoing from Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Presented by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research in Collaboration with Cranbrook Academy of Art

Exhibition Curators and Speakers: 
Iris Eichenberg, Head of Metalsmithing Department, Cranbrook Academy of Art 
Kevin Adkisson, Curator, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research 
Nina Blomfield, Decorative Arts Trust Marie Zimmermann Collections Fellow, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research

Host:
Gregory Wittkopp, Director, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research 


While admission to the Virtual Opening and Lecture is free, we kindly ask you to consider making a donation to support the ongoing collaborative work of Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, including the Center’s work with Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Photograph of contemporary and historic art on the dining room table at Saarinen House

Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research is pleased to announce the exhibition Brought to the Table, the fifth intervention of new, site-specific work by Cranbrook Academy of Art students and Artists-in-Residence staged within the historic homes of Cranbrook. 

Engaging in the Academy’s long tradition of making functional art and objects for the table, approximately fifty artists from each of the Academy’s eleven departments have created work for tables in Cranbrook’s historic house museums: Cranbrook House (1908/1919), Saarinen House (1930), and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House (1950/1968). Created in dialogue with the decorative arts and architecture of each site, experimental new works in a range of media will be sited directly alongside existing pieces in the homes and from Cranbrook collections, challenging the idea of art existing only within the neutral space of the studio or gallery. 

From tea services to candlesticks, board games to brushes, and newly imagined forms, the works are unified by their placement across dining, coffee, dressing, and side tables in the house museums. By situating the new work within the domestic context and challenging the objects of the permanent collections in these three significant interiors, the artists will encourage us to think creatively and critically about domestic space, design, and patterns of use. 

Photograph of CAA student art on a table in the Cozy Corner at Saarinen House

In placing new work alongside existing objects from the Cranbrook collections, Brought to the Table will suggest a dialogue across time and between diverse cultures. In addition to works from the Cranbrook Cultural Properties Collections (objects from Cranbrook’s founders, Cranbrook Schools, and the wider Educational Community), Brought to the Table will also incorporate pieces from the permanent collections of Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Institute of Science.

The new works will be installed in each house and photographed by award-winning Detroit-based photographer Eric Perry. These images will form a virtual exhibition on the Center’s website. During the online Virtual Opening and Lecture, Curator Kevin Adkisson and Collections Fellow Nina Blomfield will deliver a guided tour through the exhibition images following remarks from Metalsmithing Department and Artist-in-Residence Iris Eichenberg.

Photograph of candlesticks and sculptures on a table in Cranbrook House

Brought to the Table is organized by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Curator Kevin Adkisson, Collections Fellow Nina Blomfield, and Head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art Metalsmithing Department and Artist-in-Residence Iris Eichenberg. Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research is responsible for stewarding the collections of Cranbrook House (in partnership with Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary), Saarinen House (in partnership with Cranbrook Art Museum), and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House. The Center also stewards the Cranbrook Educational Community Cultural Properties Collections.

ABOUT CRANBROOK ACADEMY OF ART
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design, and fine art. Each year, just seventy-five students are invited to study and live on Cranbrook’s landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum, and 300 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from the art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of eleven disciplines: Architecture, 2D, 3D, and 4D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside the Academy’s students. For more information, visit the Academy’s website at www.cranbrookart.edu.

ABOUT CRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH  
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research centralizes the Cranbrook story to increase awareness of—and access to—the diverse art, architectural, landscape, design, and historical resources that comprise the Cranbrook legacy. Founded in 2012, the Center serves a broad audience—including students, scholars, and the general public—through its research initiatives and educational programs, which include tours, lectures, and numerous behind-the-scenes opportunities. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 
On the Friday prior to the lecture date, registered participants will receive an email with instructions on how to join this virtual experience; a reminder will be sent one hour prior to the start of the lecture. We are limited in the number of virtual “seats” and each registration is unique. Please do not share the login link with others. 

The lecture will begin promptly at 3:00pm Eastern Daylight Time and includes a fifteen-minute Q&A session at the end of the presentation. The event will conclude at 4:30pm Eastern.

For more information, please contact the Center at center@cranbrook.edu or 248.645.3307. The Center’s office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm.

PHOTO CREDITS
Banner Image: Cranbrook Academy of Art dinner service, attributed to Eliel Saarinen (c. 1932), with cup by Noah Zirpoli (CAA Ceramics 2023) and candlestick by Haoran Lin (CAA 3D Design 2023), installed in Cranbrook House for the special exhibition, Brought to the Table, March 2022; Photography by Eric Perry, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. 

Works by Iris Eichenberg (Metalsmithing Department Artist-in-Residence) and Jae Song (CAA 4D Design 2023) and George Perez (CAA Photography 2023) sit behind silver the bird centerpiece, ca. 1930, by Franz Hagenauer, installed in Saarinen House for the special exhibition, Brought to the Table, March 2022; Photography by Eric Perry, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. 

A large terra-cotta candleholder by Chris Salas (CAA Ceramics 2023), felt plant by Yuyu Chen (CAA 3D Design 2023), tea set, 1964, by Chunghi Choo (CAA Metalsmithing 1965) (CAM 2021.14) rest atop a felted Yak wool tablecloth by Kelly Kroener (CAA Sculpture 2022), installed in Saarinen House for the special exhibition, Brought to the Table, March 2022; Photography by Eric Perry, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. 

An arrangement of candlesticks and candle holders from students at Cranbrook Academy of Art intermingled with lighting implements from Cranbrook Institute of Science, Cranbrook Art Museum, and Cranbrook Cultural Properties Collection, installed in Cranbrook House for the special exhibition, Brought to the Table, March 2022; Photography by Eric Perry, Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. 

Alissa Lamarre, CAA Metalsmithing 2013, at work in Metalsmithing Department, 2013; Courtesy Cranbrook Academy of Art.