Hera Gallery is proud to present the National Juried Exhibition, Dough, juried by Curatorial Director of the Museum of Food and Drink, NYC, Catherine Piccoli. The show will be held at Hera Gallery, 10 High Street in Wakefield, RI, from October 16 to November 13, 2021. The public is invited to attend during our open gallery hours, Wed-Fri (1-5pm) and Saturday (10-4). The opening reception will be held in person on October 16, from 3-5pm at Hera Gallery, no reservations required. We ask that all visitors please wear a mask while visiting the gallery. 

Throughout the exhibition, participating artists will be featured on our social media, website, and virtual ArtSteps exhibition. Hera Gallery will also be hosting a live and open to the public, virtual artist talk between our Juror, Gallery Director, and Dough artists. The talk will be held on October 20th at 7pm on Zoom. The link to join the Zoom call is available on our website, heragallery.org. The talk will also be recorded and featured on our website and social media pages. 

Dough showcases artists from across the nation responding to the phenomenon of Dough. The exhibition includes examples of Dough as a source of comfort, community, family traditions, food insecurity, toxins, wealth. The artists represent Dough in the home, in the kitchen, in the body, in the community, and in our memories. Juror Catherine Piccoli shared that she “ was impressed by the way the artists captured these moments in their work using vastly different mediums and forms. Many of the pieces have a playful quality to them, reminding us that putting our hands in dough can lift us during difficult times, especially during this last year and a half when connection was difficult and comfort paramount. “

Featuring Artists: Julia Barbee, Michael Andryc, Lorna Barth, Heather Binder, Carol Blum, Anna Boothe, Bianca Boragi, Eddie Bruckner, Patrice Burkhardt, Elizabeth Caputo, Lisa Chan, Pat Damiani, Madeline Davis, Christina Dietz, Orna Feldman, Gabriella Ferreira, Robin Halpren-Ruder, Miguel Olivares, Gigi Salij, Roxy Savage, Jiayin Liu, Michelle Marcotte, Judith Montminy, Judith Klausner, Carrie Mae Smith, Nina Temple, and Jillian Vaccaro.

View DOUGH’s Virtual Artist Talk!

About the Juror:

Catherine M. Piccoli is a food historian, writer, and curator whose work focuses on the intersection of food, culture, memory, and place. She brings a multidisciplinary approach to the Museum of Food and Drink as curatorial director, where she oversees the creation of exhibitions and robust public programming for adults and children. Catherine led the development of MOFAD’s major exhibitions – African/American: Making the Nation’s Table, Chow: Making the Chinese American Restaurant, and Flavor: Making It and Faking It – as well as gallery shows – Highlights from the Collection, Knights of the Raj NYC, and Feasts and Festivals.Previously, Catherine worked as a researcher at the Chicago History Museum and the Heinz History Center. She holds an M.A. in Food Studies from Chatham University and a B.S. with honors in Social and Cultural History from Carnegie Mellon University. Catherine acted as MOFAD's interim president from March through December 2020.

Juror Statement

“As a person who studies food, culture, and history, I was particularly intrigued by several recurring themes in the submissions to Dough – nostalgia, connection, comfort, embodiment. So many of us associate food with those feelings. In fact, while reviewing these pieces, I was reminded often of my own family, my own history: a figure reminiscent of a puppet from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Baking nut roll with my mother and uncle. The sandwich was accidentally made with moldy bread packed in my school lunchbox. My great grandmother’s gigantic pasta rolling pin sitting in a dusty corner of the basement. Dim sum with friends. A surprise box of doughnuts. 

Food is ephemeral. Cooking is a performative act; eating, a consumed experience. A loaf of bread is different each time it’s baked, a mere memory once consumed, and intimately tied to our emotions and memories. I was impressed by the way the artists captured these moments in their work using vastly different mediums and forms. Many of the pieces have a playful quality to them, reminding us that putting our hands in dough can lift us during difficult times, especially during this last year and a half when connection was difficult and comfort paramount. 

Thank you to Hera Gallery for including me in Dough. And thank you to the artists for sharing your nourishing work with us.”