Growing up in East Germany under socialism, Gerit Grimm was exposed to ceramics as a young adult working in a factory as a production potter. This job honed her skills and ignited her desire to study in the United States, where she continued to develop as an artist. Odyssey: The Voyage of Gerit Grimm reflects this journey with 22 works, primarily ceramics, that span 21 years of her career.
When guest curator Hieyler Pimpton first spoke with Grimm in preparation for this exhibition, Grimm told Pimpton of her goal of becoming a Yacht Master. Immediately, The Odyssey, Homer’s epic poem, came to mind. They agreed that it would be a good idea to show her work in a timeline—a journey of her progress. Pimpton asked Grimm, why sailing? Grimm replied that “it all started with a drawing of a sailboat” made by her father. It was his dream to sail around the world, and, as she was very close to her father, it became her dream as well. This dream came closer to reality, when she moved near the Baltic Sea and sailed to Saint Petersburg as a journeyman.
Grimm had a strong desire to become an artist. After trying several times to get into graduate school for sculpture, she finally succeeded; the dream of sailing remained but had to be put on hold for a while, though it did find its way into her work through the subject of movement. When she became a professor in Madison, Wisconsin, she joined a sailing club and finally made her dream come true by becoming a Yacht Master by the age of 50.
Travel is a major inspiration for Grimm. Her experiences emerge in the objects she creates, whether through documenting her travels or photographing herself along the way. While she works intuitively, she also looks at a lot of paintings. Grimm does not think of the viewer when making work; instead, she thinks about impressing herself and pushing objects to the point where they satisfy her artistic instincts. “On my trips, I’m an explorer, researcher, and photographer,” she told Pimpton. “Adventures have become my storybook. Instead of just making clay figures about stories known, I’m telling new stories, a new folklore for grandmas to tell their granddaughters.”
This timely exhibition is a chance for both viewers and Grimm herself to reflect on 33 years of an artistic practice and how she has arrived at this moment—her Voyage.