Bonding

The group exhibition Bonding, the centerpiece of the Summer Open Class, brings together three artists whose experimental practices explore the relationships between metal, bodies, technology, and the natural world. Drawing on the history of science and technology shaped by investigations into the microscopic structures of metals, the exhibition examines how forms of connection and transformation emerge across different materials and systems. Leonor Serrano Rivas presents hybrid ecosystems in which metal and plant life intertwine. Using electroforming techniques, decaying plants are encased in a metallic "second skin," revealing processes of growth, transformation, and the long cycles through which materials move between natural and human-made worlds. Nearby, turtle-shaped robots by Playfool move autonomously through the space, responding to their surroundings and inviting interaction. Their presence highlights the often invisible ways metals shape our daily lives through electricity and technology. Artist and pyrotechnician Sayaka Shimada turns to the material history of fireworks, exploring the chemical processes behind their colors and the cultural meanings they have carried as symbols of celebration, remembrance, and ritual. Together, the works present metal as a material of connection—one that links the artificial and the natural, the living and the nonliving, while opening new ways of thinking about coexistence and transformation.