Catchpenny Parlor: Julia Kunze and Joy Scanlon

Catchpenny Parlor was a site-specific exhibition on view for two days only at Sparky Pocket Park in Austin, TX.

On display in Catchpenny Parlor were large-scale sculptures and paintings by Kunze and Scanlon. The work on view was made primarily of paper– for Kunze, this paper is vibrantly-colored construction paper woven to create plaid and checkerboard patterns, and photo-copies of the pages of romance novels, edited and redacted. “For me, paper has an intimate quality because of my associations with journaling and memorabilia,” Kunze says. “The wonderful thing about paper as a medium is that it’s a material that everyone has some experience with and brings their own associations to.” Scanlon’s work on view consisted almost entirely of paper pulp. She processes and pigments this pulp from cotton rags, then sculpts it to create vibrant geometric “paintings.” This unpredictable, fluid process pushes back against the artist’s ideas, lending the paintings an open, intuitive quality.

Catchpenny Parlor is informed by the idea of the “feminist city." As defined by Leslie Kern, the feminist city is an urban space that meets the needs of all its inhabitants; these needs include care, friendship, personal space, and hope. Both Kunze and Scanlon’s work engages with personal, domestic space– through their use of pattern, references to architecture and decorative objects, and engagement with traditions of craft. Both artists inflate what is usually considered the “domestically”–scaled, monumentalizing the intimate and personal. By presenting their domestically-oriented work in public space, the artists further blur the line between “personal” and public.” This has implications not only for legitimizing the oft-disregarded domestic, but also for making more livable, accessible public spaces.

All images credit: Alexander Boeschenstein

This project is supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department.