Andi Crist
Live, Laugh, Labor:
Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths

10/16/2025 - 01/11/2026

Andi Crist's sculptural practice is deeply influenced by her career as a professional art handler and fabricator. She works with a diverse range of media, including woodworking, ceramics, leather craft, and mold-making/casting, to explore the various roles and representations of the artist as a worker. By pairing humor and skepticism with traditional craft techniques, she critically examines the value systems within the arts economy and the underlying structures that sustain them, such as language, architecture, and social economics.

The interplay of absurdity and utility in her work challenges intellectualism, reflecting a serious dedication to craftsmanship and a belief that being a “master of none is better than a master of one.” Grounded in real-world iterations, her work navigates the blurry boundaries and integral relationships between work, play, and practice. With a keen sense of self-awareness and a sardonic approach to the gallery as a neutral place, her practice incites critical examinations of contemporary industrialized studio practices. In doing so, she fosters a dialogue that questions and redefines traditional art values while acknowledging the architectural frameworks that shape creative labor.

For her solo exhibition at the CCMA, Crist will present sculptures, drawings, and ceramic works created over the past five years. Together, these pieces showcase her technical skill and wit, offering a playful yet incisive perspective on making, ego, value, and worth. While grounded in her personal experience as an artist, the work ultimately points outward, prompting broader questions about labor, authenticity, and the shifting recognition of human effort in today’s world.

Crist’s exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art will be her first major museum exhibition.

Academic Reception: Thursday October 16, from 5 - 7pm
Curator Talk: Saturday October 18, 6:30 - 7:00pm
Exhibition Open House and Reception: Saturday November 8, 5 - 7 pm

Press:
Andi Crist’s Five Star Exhibition - NewCity
Andi Crist Moves From Support to Star - Axios Chicago
Chicago Tribune