Transcendental Arrangements
Miller ICA Exhibited July 29 – September 3
written by
Margaret Cox
From July 29 – September 3, 2023, Carnegie Mellon University’s Miller Institute for Contemporary Art presented “Transcendental Arrangements: 109th Annual AAP Exhibition,” organized and juried by Miller ICA Director Elizabeth Chodos. Associated Artists of Pittsburgh (AAP) is the oldest continuously-exhibiting visual artist membership organization in the country.
"Transcendental Arrangements" — which focused on artistic practices that engage with ritual, magical and supernatural qualities within everyday encounters, serendipitous connections and ubiquitous symbols in our daily lives — marked AAP’s 109th exhibition. For the first time, AAP’s annual exhibition included a selection of artists invited by the juror from outside of the region.
"Transcendental Arrangements" featured the artwork of Sue Abramson, A.W. Allison, Elijah Burgher, Julia Haft-Candell, Jovencio de la Paz, Joshua Challen Ice, Angie Jennings, Ulric Joseph, Eli Kessler, Jessica Labatte, Deanna Mance, Brent Nakamoto, Mikael Owunna, and Paula Wilson. Music performances in conversation with the work of Sue Abramson were also scheduled throughout the exhibition, which was free and open to the general public. The exhibition was accompanied by an exhibition catalog.
“Pittsburgh now attracts a new generation of artists seeking the conditions that make a life-long commitment to making art possible. Our region has the potential to develop into a leading national voice in contemporary art,” said Chodos. “AAP and the Miller ICA partnered to produce AAP’s first annual membership exhibition in 109 years that combined artists living and working outside of Pittsburgh with member artists, The goal of this curated open-call exhibition was to put local artists in conversation with their national counterparts, connecting the creative activity locally with a broader discourse nationally.”
"Transcendental Arrangements" was made possible by major support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the College of Fine Arts, Regina and Marlin Miller, and other individual donors.
featuring the following:
work by Mikael Owunna
