Tribeca, New York
Group Exhibition
The Loving Cup
Jacqueline Sullivan GalleryA History of Frogs, Cara Bauermeister, Skye Chamberlain, Ficus Interfaith, Jordan McDonald, Sophie Stone, and a selection of historical design “For life’s bright taper is the same Love tipped of old with rosy flame That heaven’s own altar lent… To glow in every cup we fill Till lips are mute and hearts are still, Till life and love are spent… Till life and love are spent.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes, “A Loving Cup Song”, 1829-1833 The Loving Cup is a decorative vessel that historically commemorates a marriage union, representing the promise of love, honor and good fortune. Ceremoniously used at weddings and banquets, the cup boasts two handles and is often crafted in precious metals like fine silver and gold. Inscribed with the nuptial date and the names of the betrothed, it exists as a sober testament to enduring fondness and fidelity. The Loving Cup bears witness to the fragile complexity (and often, ephemerality) of human connection, and serves as a sacrament to the sincerity of care we feel for others, and the esteem we hold for ourselves. The Loving Cup exhibition explores how these traditional vessels become a means of archival stewardship, honoring relationships of all kinds. Contemporary artists and designers responded to this historical tradition both in concept and practice, through a diverse range of materials such as ceramic, fiber, metal, and found objects both natural and human-made. Their ideas were born from references real and imagined, like the “Kantharos” used at Bacchanalian banquets, an antique tuffet delicately adorned with a collection of personal trinkets and charms, and even the churlish “push and pull” of a vessel’s organic material. The Loving Cup demonstrates the abiding human impulse to celebrate and immortalize relationships in both public and private; it is the stoic vessel that quietly articulates what it means to promise and to keep.