Mitch Iburg: Talus @ Hugomento

Hugomento is excited to present ‘Talus’, Minnesota-based ceramic artist Mitch Iburg’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery.

Iburg’s work is driven by the relationship between the physical world and the immaterial influence of time. Mountains become boulders, stones, sand, and dust. Material changes form as it accumulates history, which itself can only be experienced through the physical remnants it leaves behind.

‘Talus’ brings together two distinct bodies of work—each of which uniquely addresses the persistent erosion and reformation of the material world.

Produced in response to accumulated fragments of fractured limestone found along the Mississippi River bluffs, Iburg’s newest sculptures honor the expressive capabilities of time and erosion as they rearrange the earth’s record. Each piece is constructed using coarse, locally-sourced clays to capture the tenuous balance between deliberate composition and natural chaos.

Iburg’s most recent paintings are rooted in detritus—the fragments left behind by nature as well as within his studio practice. Created using crushed ceramic shards, unfired kaolin clay, glacial debris, and acrylic binders on wood, this collection of paintings showcases the subtle, chromatic, and textural variations found within salvaged materials.