Past Exhibition

Gold Rush

Stephanie Garon

October 15–November 26, 2022

Working with core samples extracted from a mine on unceded Passamaquoddy land in Maine, Stephanie Garon explores notions of labor, permanence, and land claim. Hamiltonian Artists is located closest to the Potomac River and Anacostia River corridors, which contain historical sites of gold mining, panning, and prospecting.

Through sculpture, installation, video, sound, and photography, Garon reflects on our relationship to the land. The exhibition includes an interactive component that invites viewers to use a metal detector mobile app to detect the gold, silver, and copper components in the core samples, as precious metal spot prices scroll across an LED sign overhead. Also on view is a video that features interviews with activist and art critic Lucy Lippard and Sipayik Museum director and curator Dwayne Tomah, who explore the overlaps between cultural history and geological damage. Garon’s large-scale drawings and crushed-core-sample paintings incorporate DC tap water and chemicals used in mining, situating the work locally.

Artist

Stephanie Garon earned her MFA in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD (2022), and MHA and BS from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (1996, 1994).


Downloads

Press release

Checklist

Programs

Artist talk
Thursday, November 3, 6–7pm

Musical performance:
Mali Obomsawin, with Taylor Ho Bynum, Noah Campbell, and Olivia Shortt
November 12, 6–7pm

Essays on Art

Lucy Lippard

News & reviews

Washington Post
Mark Jenkins

BmoreArt
Caroline Cliona Boyle