Pittsburgh Arts & Entertainment Winter 2013 | Page 16

Museums

The Mattress

Factory

Celebrating 35 Years of Contemporary Art Instillations
It has been 35 years since the Mattress Factory, a museum of
contemporary installation art located in the historic Mexican
War Streets in the North Side, opened to the public. On
September 12, 2013 the Mattress Factory celebrated its
birthday with the opening of three new exhibits:
“Janine Antoni,” “Detroit: Artists in Residence,” and
“Chiharu Shiota: Trace of Memory.”

with more of the Milagros as well as other artifacts,
such as pots and hipbones.
The exhibit is coupled with a video titled “Honey
Babt” which features a man writhing around in honey.

Detroit: Artists in Residence

Janine Antoni
Janine Antoni is a Brooklyn based artist best known for her
1992 work “Gnaw,” which involved 600-pound cubes of
chocolate and lard which she chewed to create chocolate
boxes and lipstick tubes.
In her current exibit located in the annex
building of the Mattress Factory
museum located at 516 Sampsonia
Way, she chose to focus for the
most part on the human form
to create emotionally charged
instillation.
She used religious folk
charms used for healing in
Mexico called milagros. They
are set into the roots of a
maple tree that punctures the
ceiling of the first floor and
continues growing on the
second floor. The tree grows until
it becomes a table which is covered

1975

1977

Barbara
Luderowski
buys the
mattress
warehouse

15

500 artists from around the world
11%

72%

9%

8%

have exhibited at the Mattress Factory

1978

The Mattress
Factory
becomes a
non-profit
educational
& cultural
organization

The Detroit: Artists in Residence series is set up in the
main Mattress Factory building located at 500
Sampsonia Way and is inspired by the current
movement of artists in Detroit.

1986

1982

Michael Olijnyk
begins to work at
the Mattress Factory.
He becomes
Curator of Exhibitions
in 1982 and
Co-Director in 2008

1983
First
instillation
opens on
May 8

First
permanent
instillations

1990
Artist
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