Ripe Art Gallery • Rexer’s Crossroads Farm • Huntington, New York • 24 September–21 October 2016
THE BIG POTATO was a large-scale invitational exhibition organized by Jeffrey Allen Price at Ripe Art Gallery in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of THINK POTATO. Bringing together nearly thirty artists from across New York, the exhibition explored the potato as an artistic medium, cultural symbol, historical artifact, source of humor, and catalyst for creative experimentation.
A defining feature of THE BIG POTATO was the substantial number of new artworks created specifically for the exhibition. While the exhibition included selected existing works, many participating artists responded directly to the invitation by producing new works of potato art specifically for the project. The result was both an exhibition and an act of artistic generation, demonstrating the potato’s continued ability to inspire creative production across a wide range of media, styles, and conceptual approaches.
Digital Collages by Capucine Bourcart.
THE BIG POTATO brought together an unusually diverse range of approaches to potato art, from painting, sculpture, and photography to conceptual works, installations, and mixed-media experiments. Works addressed agriculture, labor, identity, humor, domestic life, popular culture, memory, history, and material transformation. Together the works demonstrated that the potato could function not only as subject matter, but also as metaphor, material, symbol, and catalyst for artistic inquiry.
Presented at Ripe Art Gallery on the grounds of Rexer’s Crossroads Farm, the exhibition occupied a unique setting where contemporary art and active agriculture existed side by side. The exhibition formed the centerpiece of a broader series of events that included Think Potato Festival V, The Potato Ball, the cultivation of The Big Potato Patch, artist talks, public programs, and a reunion performance by POTATOTRON.
THE BIG POTATO was on view September 24 through October 21, 2016.
Participating Artists
Anjipan
Chris Ann Ambery
Fran Beallor
Capucine Bourcart
Colleen Deery
John Drury
Myda El-Maghrabi
Juan Lopez Espantaleon
Wendy Foster
Beth Giacummo
Carrie Anne Gonzalez
Joan Harrison
Marc Isaacs
Edward Joseph
Lorena Kalaja
Susie Kelly
Bernard Klevickas
Fawn Krieger
Linda Louis
Barbara Lubliner
Lisa Mackie
David Nelinson
Frank Olt
Ryan Seslow
Stanko
Adam Taye
Gina Vigliarolo
Explore Further
→ Think Potato Festival V (2016)
→ The Big Potato Patch (2016)
→ POTATOTRON at NICE Garage (2016)
→ TPI Timeline: The Big Potato / Think Potato Festival V