Rachel Pontious
Adjunct Faculty
BFA, School of Visual Arts, 2011; MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 2017
My most recent body of work is an invitation into a psychological space, an expression of the embodiment of the Sevens of the Tarot using a labyrinth of allusions, ideas, and images. Grand and subtle ways of communicating. Gesture, body language, theatricality. Intimacy and alienation in bars. Finding the erotic in the mundane. The works perambulate these different dynamics, approaching them from different angles, and ultimately speak to transition. The Sevens of the Tarot, the mise en abyme device, and transitional architectural spaces are motifs whose overlap speaks to the theme of duration, transformation, passage. The specific pip cards, the Sevens, are an invitation to engage with inner work, highlighting a challenging moment of choice or reflection that may engender a subtle shift or sweeping change. Mise en abyme allows for taking various perspectives on the same idea, holding multiple, even sometimes contradictory, vantage points simultaneously.
Professional Experience
Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions
2022 鈥淗omebody鈥 group exhibition, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2022 Mighty Real Queer Detroit exhibition series, Detroit, MI
2022 鈥淪alon Redux鈥 group exhibition, David Klein Gallery, Detroit, MI
2021 鈥淢ise en Abyme鈥 solo exhibition, Playground Detroit, Detroit, MI
2021 SCOPE Art Fair, Playground Detroit, Miami, FL
2021 鈥淪peculative Histories鈥 group exhibition, Saarinen House, Cranbrook Academy of Art
2020 鈥淪how Us Some Love鈥 group exhibition, Dubois Basement, Detroit, MI
2019 鈥淟ook Again鈥 four-person exhibition, White Brick Gallery, Ferndale, MI
2018 鈥淚ce Palace鈥 group exhibition, Tessellate Gallery, Pontiac, MI
2018 鈥淪mall Works鈥 group exhibition, Roy G Biv Gallery, Columbus, OH
2018 鈥95th All-Media Exhibition鈥 group exhibition, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI
2017 鈥淪uspended States鈥 group exhibition, Tessellate Gallery, Pontiac, MI
2017 鈥淓mergence 17鈥 four-person exhibition, Ford Gallery, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
2017 Graduate Degree Exhibition, Cranbrook Academy of Art
2017 鈥淲alking with Serpents鈥 group exhibition, Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Academy of Art
2017 鈥淟ive, Laugh, Love鈥 group exhibition, Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Academy of Art
2017 鈥淢elted City鈥 group exhibition, Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
2016 鈥淒rive Thru鈥 group exhibition, Cranbrook Academy of Art
2016 鈥淲elcome to the Thunderdome鈥 group exhibition, Cranbrook Academy of Art
2016 鈥淢elted City鈥 group exhibition, Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
2015 鈥淟ifestyle Brands鈥 group exhibition, Gowanus Pop Up, NYC
2015 鈥淎 Festival of Sorts鈥 group exhibition, Brooklyn Fire Proof NYC
2015 SPRING/BREAK Art Fair, NYC
2015 鈥淢elted City鈥 group exhibition, Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
2014 鈥淗r枚nir: Un-Lost Things鈥 group exhibition, Brooklyn Fire Proof, NYC
2014 鈥淓veryday Special鈥 group exhibition, Gowanus Pop Up, NYC
2014 鈥淔uture Memory鈥 group exhibition, Mayson Gallery, NYC
2013 鈥淎 Little More to the Left鈥 three-person exhibition, Associated Gallery, NYC
2013 鈥淭he Pond, the Mirror, and the Kaleidoscope鈥 group exhibition, Visual Arts Gallery, NYC