Seattle-based ceramicist George Rodriguez immersed MadArt in an abundance of multi-sensory stimulation through his sculptural installation, Reflect and Gather. The exhibition comprised a series of compact rooms, each decorated with over 1,000 handmade decorative relief tiles and individualized through a variance in color, texture, and method of lighting. While stimulating the viewer’s visual faculty in a wealth of ornamentation inspired by his own heritage and travels abroad, Rodriguez created meditative environments of disarming stillness. 

With the intention of fostering connection and community, prior to beginning work at MadArt, Rodriguez opened his Ballard studio and invited groups to join in the exhibition’s making process by hand pressing and painting hundreds of tiles. Rodriguez maintained this participatory component of the exhibition by incorporating a malleable, wet-clay room that recorded visitors’ movements within the space over time. Referencing the urban architectural plaza, the rooms were adjoined by a community gathering space created through an assemblage of decorative statues, columns, and benches. Here visitors had the ability to congregate, reflect, and continue to contribute to the installation.

Special thanks to Clay Art Center in Tacoma, Washington for their material contributions to see this project through and to MudShark Studios in Portland, Oregon for their expertise in the production of the RAM pressed tiles included in Reflect and Gather.