Oliver Herring: 31 Days

Emmanuel Gallery

Associate Curator / Artist Assistant / Preparator

Few human needs are as important as physical touch. While we have become so technologically connected, we have simultaneously disconnected from the people in our everyday experiences.  Oliver Herring is a connector and facilitator who uses the power of touch contextualized through contemporary art as a platform to experiment with moments of intimacy. The result is a visual vocabulary depicting powerful interactions between people and ideas.

This exhibition explores relationships between friends, strangers, and people who would not normally cross paths. Through choreographed movement and captured photographs, each participant was pushed out of their comfort zones and covered with materials such as food dye, glitter, flour, and mud to create rigorous instances of vulnerability and trust.  

31 Days is a cumulation of different ideas Herring has considered for the last 30 years. The exploration of conceptions of masculinity, the male body, the figure in art history, contemporary politics, performance, and collaboration creates a narrative within two quilt panels of printed silk and cotton images pinned onto muslin. The quilt is paired with photo garments, which subvert traditional positions on craft and fashion and reanimate the static image.

Sharifa Moore

Learn more at the Emmanuel Gallery and Oliver Herring.

In 2019, I had the immense privilege of working with Oliver. The days were long, messy, and his vision for the exhibition was elaborate to execute. Above, I have shared the text from the intro panel for the show and continue to have a special place in my heart for this experience. Oliver has an intense work ethic and a never-ending well of brilliant ideas. The gallery is difficult to document, so the photos don’t do the exhibition justice, but each of these works were made during Oliver’s 31 day visit. In addition, he worked tirelessly with students to create a performance piece for the CU Denver campus.