Material Gallery presents Grief Work
Embodied #7, Irene Nelson, 2023
A multidisciplinary exhibition exploring grief as communal, embodied, and transformative
Material Gallery is pleased to present Grief Work, a multidisciplinary exhibition that approaches grief as layered, communal, and transformative. Rather than understanding grief as singular or linear, the exhibition recognizes it as an experience that unfolds across time, cultures, bodies, and artistic practices.
The exhibition opens Friday, March 6, 5:30–8 PM, and remains on view through April 10 at Material, 2970 S West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Featuring 53 local and national artists working across a wide range of media—including two- and three-dimensional work, performance, film, sound, and poetry—Grief Work engages grief in its many forms: personal, collective, ancestral, societal, and ecological. The works approach grief not only as loss, but as process, ritual, memory, resistance, care, and transformation. Together they ask: How do we hold space for pain? How can art witness and metabolize sorrow?
Emerging at a moment of cultural urgency, Grief Work offers space for reflection, connection, and shared meaning—centering grief not as something to resolve, but as something to honor.
Participating Artists
Jenny Abramson · Andrew Alba · Kirsten Beitler · Sumedha Bhattacharyya · Jenny Chernansky · Steven Chodoriwsky · Esperanza Cortes · Pablo Cruz-Ayala · Rafi Ruffino Darrow · Stefanie Dykes · David Enriquez · Lares Feliciano · Susan Flores · Kathleen Granados · Andy Hayes · Bryan Hutchison · Zak Jensen · Barry Jones · Kara Komarntisky · Ava Kostia · Beth Krensky · Aya Krisht · Kelly Lawler · Kristina Lenzi · Stephanie Liapis · Caroline Liu · LeGrande Lolo · Elías Magdalena · Trinh Mai · Daniel Maldonado · Vincent Mattina · Kym McDaniel · Cameron McLeod · Christina McPhee · Marissa Mooney · Nuha Moretz · Irene Nelson · Christy Nelson · Zoe Nicole Nielsen · Lis Pardoe · Anna Pottier · Chaz Prymek · Holly Rios · Vanessa Romo · Wren Ross · Alejandra Saunders · Victoria Schiodtz · Andrew Rease Shaw · John Sproul · Hannah Vaughn · Peter Wiarda · Tyler Wilson · Christopher Woodward
Grief Work is co-curated by Molly Heller, Colour Maisch, and Jorge Rojas.
Quote from Guest Curator Molly Heller
“Grief is pressing at every level of our lives—from climate crisis, political unrest, and displacement to the lingering effects of the pandemic and intimate personal loss. Yet few cultural frameworks help us confront or process it. Grief Work offers a space where what is difficult to name can be expressed and witnessed without requiring resolution. Through embodied movement, poetic materials, and shared rituals, the exhibition presents art as a site for connection, care, and collective reflection. Rooted in local experience while resonating with global realities, it reimagines the gallery as a space of sanctuary and affirms the visual arts as essential tools for navigating emotional and social change.”
Quote from Material Co-Founder Jorge Rojas
“We have been deeply moved by the response to our first national open call. With more than 150 submissions representing nearly 350 artworks, the generosity, vulnerability, and creative rigor shared with us were profound. While jurying a call of this scale was challenging, we are proud to present 53 artists whose work reflects a remarkable diversity of perspectives, media, and lived experiences. The exhibition intentionally brings together emerging and established artists, including BIPOC, queer, disabled, and locally rooted voices often underrepresented in gallery contexts. We are especially grateful to MollyHeller for initiating this project and for her vision, trust, and dedicated collaboration over the past six months in bringing Grief Work to life for our community.”
Events
March 6 · 5:30–8 PM
Opening Reception & Live Program
March 20 · 5:30–8 PM
5–6 PM · Grief Circle (registration required)
6–8 PM · Gallery Stroll
April 3 · Time TBA
An Evening of Performance & Film
V. PROJECT STUDIO
826 South 500 West, Suite 2
April 10 · 6:30–9:30 PM
6:30–9:30 PM Closing
8 PM · Shadow Play (Performance)
8:30–9:30 PM · Grief Rave
Additional viewing is available by appointment.
About Molly Heller
Molly Heller is an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Utah, where she received the 2024 Faculty Excellence Award in Research and serves as faculty in the Arts and Health Innovation Lab. She is the founder and director of Heartland, a multidisciplinary art collective based in Salt Lake City. Her choreography has been presented throughout the United States as well as in Italy and Germany. Since 2018, she has performed with New York–based choreographer Joanna Kotze. Over the next year, Heller is prioritizing grief-centered research as both embodied practice and communal processing, unfolding through a co-curated exhibition at Material, an evening-length dance work presented by Repertory Dance Theatre’s Link Series, and a developing book of images and writing. For more info: mollyheller.com
About Material
Built on the collective vision of artists Jorge Rojas and Colour Maisch, Material is a multifaceted art space housing a commercial gallery, artist studios, classes and community events. Material exhibits local, national, and international artists through community-centered events and collaborations.
