Material Prophecies at Armory Art Center Explores Craft as Divination

The group exhibition "Material Prophecies: Craft as Divination" at Armory Art Center in Pasadena, California, features eight artists who use materials historically tied to spiritual practices and religious rituals. The show questions how medium determines meaning, echoing Marshall McLuhan's 1958 phrase "the medium is the message." Works include Jackie Amézquita's 2024 "Earthworks" series of mud, masa, and dried clay wall reliefs; Joel Gaitan's unglazed clay sculptures, such as "No Pidas Agua, Cuando No Hay Sed" (2024), a lounging terracotta figure with a crown, metallic teeth, and gold jewelry; Calethia DeConto's 2026 cyanotype installation "Mapping the Emotional Weather of Memory and the Space Between," featuring 25 circular prints of female figures in seaside landscapes; Emmanuel Louisnord Desir's "Raging Machine" (2025), a bronze hybrid of industrial objects like a pencil sharpener and handaxe; and vanessa german's "DAMN." (2024), a portrait bust encrusted with pink rose quartz and a chain of metal bottle caps. The exhibition runs at Armory Art Center.