Ogden Contemporary Arts presents Mesmerizing Flesh, a solo exhibition of work by globally recognized textile artist Tamara Kostianovsky.

Mesmerizing Flesh
February 3–April 16, 2023
Ogden Contemporary Arts
Ogden Contemporary Arts presents a solo exhibition for globally recognized textile artist Tamara Kostianovsky, whose work speaks to themes of violence against humans and animals, consumer culture, and environmental devastation. Kostianovsky’s central kinetic installation is a site-specific collaboration with OCA and is the first time her work has been displayed in this manner—from a ceiling-mounted track. Five new sculptures from the artist’s Tropical Abattoir series will move through the gallery in a continuous loop, reminiscent of a conveyer belt in a meat processing plant. While unsettling in their presentation, the carcasses themselves are far from gruesome with the bright tropical presence of Central American landscapes—specifically referencing the artist’s home country of Argentina, where beef production plays a major role in the local culture.
Mesmerizing Flesh includes a second installation of Kostianovsky’s Actus Reus series, with pieces made from the artist’s own discarded clothing. In using fabric reminiscent of a woman’s wardrobe, Kostianovsky references gender-based violence and violation of the female body, particularly during times of dictatorship in her Argentinian upbringing. Her overarching use of discarded fabric is also a commentary on the negative effects the fast-fashion industry has on our environment. The third series in this show, Nature Made Flesh, continues the thread of environmental concern and imagines a world made from the remnants of consumer culture.
Says the artist: “Inspired by art history, memories of butchered meat I saw while growing up in Argentina, and the mechanized systems of consumption that dominate the production of goods in the United States, my work proposes a type of beauty that integrates our corporeal realities to the contemporary systems of industrialization that devour them.”
This exhibition is made possible by our generous sponsors: Utah Office of Tourism, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, and RAMP.
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