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On November 4 to 12, 2024, the artist Dana Sherwood stayed in Naples for a residency in preparation for an exhibition to be held in spring 2025 at Fondazione Morra Greco, where she will be featured alongside Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman. The three artists have already been guests at Fondazione in July 2023 (discover more).
The artist’s residency brought together several institutions, such as the Center for the History of Art and Architecture of Port Cities La Capraia and the Caselli Palizzi Arts Center, consisting of the Caselli Institute and the High School of Artistic Choreography and Music Filippo Palizzi.
Dana Sherwood is an American artist whose practice explores the relationship between humans, nature and myth. Through sculptures, drawings and ceramics, Sherwood creates imaginative worlds where traditions, folklore and interactions between humans and animals are woven into narratives that celebrate the interconnectedness and complexity of life.
During the days spent in Naples, the artist had the opportunity to engage with the century-old Neapolitan tradition of pottery by engaging in a dialogue with exceptional interlocutors: as a matter of fact, the Caselli Palizzi Arts Center – located in the original building that housed the Real Fabbrica delle Ceramiche di Capodimonte, commissioned by Charles III of Spain in the first half of the 18th century – is an institution specifically dedicated to studying and crafting these materials.
Specifically, Sherwood worked on the creation of two pottery craters produced with a mixed technique, one that reimagines the myth of Medusa and a second that draws upon the classical iconography of the sphinx. Alessandro Borrelli, professor of ceramics at the institute, was a main point of reference for the artist.
The works created during the residency will then be enriched by the artist with final details, before the exhibition begins.
Sherwood’s artistic residency fueled opportunities to meet and dialogue with students and professionals from the institutions involved, as well as the broader Neapolitan cultural scene.
Notably, on November 7, the artist was guided by Liceo Artistico Palizzi’s teachers, students and principal Valter De Bartolomeis in a visit to the school, admiring some of the rooms housing the painting, ceramics and sculpture laboratories as well as the works that are part of the high school collection. During this visit, Sherwood recounted her life and artistic journey, showcasing pictures of her works and engaging with students, who in turn displayed their own research and works with excitement and enthusiasm. The students particularly appreciated how the artist draws upon iconographies from Western classical culture to question critical aspects of it, such as the prevaricating role of the hero or the male deity. The case of Medusa, to whom Sherwood restores dignity by removing her from the role of antagonist, was for this reason very purposeful.
Photo 1 – 2 by Alessio Esposito
Photo 3 – 5 by Andrea Canneva
Photo 6 – 8 by Claudio Metallo