Exhibition: Clay Matter(s)

a three row, four column grid of rectangular, off-white clay pieces elevated on a white surface

The Sustainability Design Lab’s first year culminated in an exhibition of thesis work by the lab’s first student cohort. On view through the week of Commencement 2024, the show highlighted each student’s vision for the potential of clay in sustainable design futures. For more about the show and the work on view, see below.

Clay Matter(s)

Creative Approaches to Clay’s Material Cultures in New England

On view from May 24–June 2, 2024 at RISD’s Sol Koffler Graduate Student Gallery, the Clay Matter(s) exhibition further advanced the Sustainability Design Lab’s goal of forstering an understanding of how to shape the future of built environments via creative, low-impact design strategies.

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gallery with clay samples in the center of the floor and photography on the walls

View work from the show

image of clay samples on a grid on a table with photography behind it
clay materials bricks
full length woven artwork
hexagon clay material bricks
eight triangular clay lamps mounted on a wall in two rows of four, several illuminated
two bundles of uniformly sized sticks lain down on a gallery floor
white, light brown, and dark brown fabric sheets hanging from ceiling to floor along a gallery corridor
detail of three thin layers of brick inserted into a large block of earth
several clay sculpted clay structures rest on an exhibition display stand, with another reddish-brown structure, like a small roofed exterior, hanging overhead