University of Cincinnati
03/26/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/26/2026 13:48
UC Clermont Art Gallery presents ‘Real and Imagined’
UC Clermont Art Gallery presents 'Real and Imagined'
Joint exhibition by Professors Kelly Murray Frigard and Marie Hamaker runs through April 24
3 minute read March 26, 2026 Share on facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Print StoryLike
The University of Cincinnati Clermont College Art Gallery presents a joint exhibition featuring work by fiber and mixed-media artist Kelly Murray Frigard alongside ceramic artist Marie Hamaker. The exhibition runs through April 24.
The exhibition, "Real and Imagined," features collaged and embroidered vintage floral tablecloths, handkerchiefs, tatting and lace by Frigard. Drawing on materials associated with domestic life in the 1940s and 1950s, the work explores femininity, sexuality, labor and artistic value. Through bold scale, color and symbolic imagery - including flowers, birds and cages - Frigard reframes traditionally utilitarian women's art forms within a contemporary context, examining how history has shaped and constrained women's creative expression.
"This exhibition invites viewers to look closely at materials we think we know and consider the deeper stories they carry," said Frigard. "Both bodies of work ask us to hold opposing ideas at once - beauty and tension, tradition and disruption."
The exhibition also includes a ceramic installation by Marie Hamaker, who collaborated on the eight large stoneware vases with her husband Joshua in 2026 in a studio near Cincinnati. Inspired by animals both real and imagined in dreams and nightmares, the vases are displayed in pairs, each depicting the same animal in contradictory emotional states. Fired in a traditional wood-burning kiln, the works reveal dramatic two-sided surfaces created by super-heated ash traveling through the kiln, visually reinforcing the theme of contradiction.
Frigard is a professor of fine art at UC Clermont College. Marie Hamaker is an adjunct professor at UC Clermont College teaching ceramics in the fine arts department.
The UC Clermont Art Gallery is in the Snyder Building on the college's campus at 4200 Clermont College Drive in Batavia. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or by appointment. Learn more at ucclermont.edu/gallery.
Top featured photo: (from left) Animal stoneware vase by Marie and Joshua Hamaker; collaged and embroidered vintage tablecloth from "Real and Imagined" by Kelly Murray Frigard.
About UC Clermont
UC Clermont College is in the center of Clermont County on 95 beautifully wooded acres in Batavia Township. The college is an accredited, open-access institution offering more than 60 programs and degrees. UC Clermont is part of the nationally recognized University of Cincinnati. For more information, visit www.ucclermont.edu.
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University of Cincinnati published this content on March 26, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 26, 2026 at 19:48 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]