Sylvia Hyman: Fictional Clay presented 24 meticulously crafted trompe l’oeil sculptures created over the last eight years by Nashville’s renowned clay artist.
Hyman translates everyday items that reflect her own interests and personal history—letters, maps, scrolls of sheet music, and books—into stoneware and porcelain, then screenprints them with text, symbols, or images. She places fascinating juxtapositions of these clay objects in a variety of ceramic containers, from berry baskets and wooden boxes to a faux alligator violin case.
Like other masters of trompe l’oeil clay, Hyman inspires both the delight and sense of disorientation that occur when one is confronted with superbly realized simulations of the everyday.
Organized by the Frist Art Museum, the exhibition coincided with Hyman’s 90th birthday.
