What would it be like to create a work of art using only one tool?

In the spring of 2011, the Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, and curator Ethan Lasser invited 14 makers from the United States and the United Kingdom to break from their usual practices and make a work of art using only one tool. For a group of artists who are accustomed to working with extensive kits that include all manner of analog and digital tools, this commission presented a thought-provoking challenge. The Tool at Hand, on view at Museum of Contemporary Craft (MoCC) through January 11, 2014, presents these finished works alongside the tools used to create them and short videos produced by each artist.

In conjunction with The Tool at Hand, MoCC invited students currently enrolled in BFA and MFA programs at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) to apply for The Tool at Hand PDX Challenge, which tested the skills and creativity of emerging artists by similarly asking them to create work of art using only one tool. The projects created by the ten awardees of this unique juried challenge are currently displayed in the Community Showcase Gallery and Lab, and the works of art will remain on view through final weeks of The Tool at Hand at MoCC.

Featured Artists:

Stephanie Brachmann, PNCA
Ivan Carmona, OCAC
Christian Donnelly, PNCA/OCAC
John Dougherty, PNCA
Danielle Foushee, PNCA
Mario Gallucci, PNCA
Natalie Jenkins, OCAC
Alyssa Kail, PNCA/OCAC
Megan Mesloh, OCAC
Jesse Taylor, OCAC

The Community Showcase and Lab exhibits outstanding community artwork and featured partnership projects. The Tool at Hand Challenge was organized by Sarah Margolis-Pineo, Associate Curator, MoCC, with assistance from Brian Hutsebout, MFA Candidate, Applied Craft + Design, a joint program of PNCA and OCAC.