To Have and To Hold

To Have and To Hold
The first public showing of vessels from the Karlovich Collection
This exhibition of vintage tool and tackle boxes was framed by a narrative of lost love.
“…In an effort to quell her grief, Maya Karlovich, amassed one of the largest known collections of early-to-mid-twentieth century men’s ‘treasure chests.’ These cases represent a quickly fading notion of masculinity – strict, boundaried, and monolithic. As gender roles become more fluid and times change, so do the objects that contain our ideas of ourselves…”
To Have and To Hold was, in fact, a display of items found by the curator. The project explored the blur of fact and fiction and the gendered terrain of material culture. It also invited consideration of American industrial design, manufacturing processes, and material use that have become largely obsolete.
Gelsy Verna Gallery, Art Lofts, University of Wisconsin-Madison
September 26th – October 8th, 2013