Object as Muse and Material

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Nirmal Raja

A still image from the short film "Thread in Open Waters."

A still image from the short film "Thread in Open Waters."

media release: August 23, 2024 to October 20, 2024, James Watrous Gallery • Madison

Reception, Aug. 24, 5:30-7:30 pm: Join artist Nirmal Raja, guest curator Ann Sinfield, and Wisconsin Academy staff to celebrate the exhibition Asking Questions of a Thread at the James Watrous Gallery. Raja's solo exhibition will be on view from August 23, 2024 through October 20, 2024.Remarks begin at 6:00 pm. Free and open to the public. Light refreshments available.

Curator’s Talk with Ann Sinfield: A persistent and focused practice, Saturday, September 21, 2024, 2 pm. More info at https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/evenings/curators-talk-ann-sinfield-persistent-and-focused-practice

Join the Wisconsin Academy staff and interdisciplinary artists Nirmal Raja and Millicent Kennedy on Thursday, October 17 at 5:00pm for a captivating virtual artists' conversation, Object as Muse and Material, online via Zoom. Raja and Kennedy are both fascinated by our emotional attachment to objects and the challenge of letting things go. Whether it’s a piece of family jewelry, a memento from a favorite time or place, or a well-loved tool, our material surroundings are imbued with meaning, memory, culture, and history. Don’t miss this enriching dialogue between two remarkable artists as they offer insights into their studio practice and the importance of everyday objects in their work. Please register in advance for the event. A link to the Zoom event online will be sent to you after registration. This event is free, and your give-what-you-can donation helps the gallery to continue to support artists and sponsor events. 

Working collaboratively--and with materials like thread, ink, video, photography, and ceramics--Nirmal Raja’s investigations can be intimate, beautiful, and wrenching. An interdisciplinary artist and curator, she carves a brave and questioning path via a persistent and focused practice.    

The artist calls upon a rich conceptual vocabulary to create work that has an expansive feel yet functions on an intimate scale. Whether embroidering with her mother, re-working clothing from family, or making castings of artifacts from travels and relocations, Raja connects and reformats, transforming objects and images so that the materials convey profound experiences. Embroidered fabric or the process of sewing pictured, medical imaging, pieces gathered from disparate communities, printing, video--these are called upon to probe feelings of displacement, the act of memory, and the aftereffects of historical omission and loss.    

Her body of work encompasses a variety of approaches that consistently connect the intimate and personal with a consciously global existence. In her practice, Raja conducts experiments that delve into difficult emotional realms. Investigating personal, social, and political conflicts, her process seamlessly melds complex content with intriguing surfaces and materials to create beautiful and engaging works.    

Thread connects random pieces of fabric, but it is also the very stuff that fabric is made from. Building on this metaphor, this exhibit pulls together works from Raja’s diverse production to understand how fabric and its structure can convey powerful emotional and intellectual matters. Including work from early in her career to her most recent endeavors, this will be the first exhibit to dive into Raja’s captivating studio process and her history of making multifaceted objects and installations.

Nirmal Raja: Asking Questions of a Thread is guest curated by Ann Sinfield for the James Watrous Gallery.

Admission is free and the public is welcome. The James Watrous Gallery is located on the third floor of Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison. 

Gallery Hours: Thursday-Friday 12:00 - 6:00pm, Saturday 12:00 - 5:00pm, Sunday 12:00 - 5:00pm.

The James Watrous Gallery is dedicated to celebrating Wisconsin artists. A program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, the Watrous Gallery focuses on solo exhibits by contemporary Wisconsin artists and curated shows that draw connections between art, other disciplines, and critical issues.