Reliquary

by Jo Going

June 27 – September 21, 2014

Opening Friday, June 27, 5-7 pm; Artist Talk at 6 pm

How does one define the sacred? Nearly 30 years ago, artist Jo Going knelt beside a caribou skeleton on the tundra of the Alaskan Interior. She realized that “bones carry the spirits of the animals, a lasting essence of presence, that they are relics, holy and venerable.” Going continued to collect bones from the taiga and incorporate them into her own work. Paleolithic and Neolithic art, as well as Italian church reliquaries venerating the bones of saints, inspired Reliquary, an exhibit nearly three decades in the making. Reliquary invites visitors to connect with the spirit presence of animals, and contemplate our shared sacred impulse.