Pop-Up Exhibition Rebecca Slemmons

Per capita, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has more than five times as many houses of worship as New York City, one of the country’s most religious cities. Inspired by this information, Rebecca Slemmons created her project gatherings for which she visited 100 of Pittsburgh’s nearly 1500 temples, churches, synagogues and mosques over a thirteen-month period.

Slemmons fabricated a white dress that she wore to each place of worship. In response to her visits, she added pieces of fabric and/or embroidery to the garment and as a result, the dress changed in appearance to reflect her accumulated experiences. In addition, the artist created a drawing related to each visit and documented gatherings with photographs, off-site video and a blog.

This project seeks to question religious conflict while exploring the relationship between the ritual of attending worship services and the ritual of making art. Though she does not identify with a specific belief herself, Slemmons respectfully embraces the undeniably important role that religion plays in today’s world culture and is intrigued by the presumed differences between those dedicated to religious practice and those devoted to artistic practice.

Slemmons received her BFA in drawing and painting from the University of Michigan and her MFA from Mount Royal School of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She has served two artist residencies in Germany and one in Estonia, among others, and has held adjunct professorships at MICA, and at Robert Morris University, Duquesne University, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Working in the disciplines of drawing, painting, video, performance, fibers, glass and sound, Slemmons has exhibited in Berlin, Germany; Seoul, Korea; Portland, OR; Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC and Pittsburgh. She was awarded a Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Collaborative Fellowship Residency and a Heinz Endowments grant to attend the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). She currently lives and works in Pittsburgh with her husband and her dog.