Cake

Exhibition Dates: April 9 - September 4, 2016
Open weekends 12 - 4 p.m. and by appointment.

Location: Museum on Main Street,

part of the Washtenaw County Historical Society

500 North Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48014

Opening Reception Saturday, April 9, 2016, 1-4 p.m.

When one thinks about cake, a celebration comes to mind. The Ann Arbor-based Dinnerware Museum, the only museum in the world devoted to all-things for the table, in partnership with the Washtenaw County Historical Society’s Museum on Main Street, presents Cake, a celebration of cake and all its related tableware – featuring an invitational and juried exhibition of cake stands and cake sculpture, created by contemporary artists working in ceramic, glass, and plastic (think Legos), as well as vintage cake stands, all displayed amidst sweet and delicious details about the history of cake, cake idioms, and related utensils and paraphernalia. Expect some cake sculpture, too. And, yes, there will be cake!

All cake stands are available for purchase. A portion of the purchase price will benefit the Dinnerware Museum.

Cake Invitational

Twenty-four artists or pairs of artists, were invited to create sculptural cakes or cake stands, or in one case, a special installation, for this special exhibition. The artists who are participating are (alphabetically): Nancy Bulkley, Robert Carney, Mary Louise Carter, Heather Mae Erickson, Paul Eshelman, Léopold Foulem, Bruce Gholson, Bryan Hopkins, Ryan Kelly, Kristen Kieffer, James Klein and David Reid, Frank Martin, Kate Maury, Colleen McCall, Diana Pancioli, Katie Parker and Guy Michael Davis, Aysha Peltz, Kari Radasch, Linda Sikora, Debbie Thompson, Kate Tremel, and Kay Yourist.

Cake Juried

Juror Heather Anne Leavitt has been using cake as her medium since 2005. Her bakery in Ann Arbor, Sweet Heather Anne, specializes in creatively designed cakes. She selected 25 cake stands and cake sculpture entries submitted by contemporary artists from the US and Canada using diverse media.

Selected artists include (alphabetically) Tara Barnes-Stumpf (First Prize), Lisa Bradley (Second Prize), Kaitlyn Brennan, Elizabeth Coleman, Kris Cravens, Adrienne Eliades, Craig Hinshaw (Honorable Mention), Urban Jupena, Janet Kelman, Dganit Moreno, Ryana Lawson, Charlotte Martin, Stephanie Osser, Elizabeth Ruskin, Grace Southerland, Sally Anne Stahl, Kristine Stewart, Katie Susko, Ruth Tyszka, Molly Uravitch, Karen Wise, Lineke Zuiderweg, and Mieke Zuiderweg.

Cake Historic

An enhancement to the exhibition of invitational and juried cake sculpture and cake stands is the addition of nearly two dozen late nineteenth century, early American glass cake stands.  The Birmingham Museum of Art has loaned two key circa 1800 English Wedgwood cake-related masterpieces.  These loans include a rare stoneware (caneware) “Conceit” - a faux cake, and a lead-glazed earthenware (creamware) Egg Beater.

Some visitors will be delighted to find on exhibit vintage children’s baking implements -- a Betty Crocker Easy-Bake Oven and well as a Suzy Homemaker Oven (that once baked real cakes).

Sponsors

The exhibition reception and artist awards are sponsored, in part, by “Jiffy” Mixes of Chelsea Milling Co., Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, Plum Market of Ann Arbor, and Trader Joe’s of Ann Arbor.