06/03/2026
“My creative process has been inverted, and consequently transformed, by my residency here at Materials for the Arts. Normally, as an artist I will have an idea and the challenge is finding the materials. Here, the materials direct the outcome of my work and guide me to new realms of possibility.” — MFTA Spring 2026 Artist-in-Residence Mary Mattingly ()
Colorful assemblages of pitchers, books, pedestals, ceiling medallions, varying in hues and height, create a vibrant tableau in Mary Mattingly’s “All Night I Hear the Noise of Water Sobbing,” an installation of interconnected sculptures that use moving water to tell time.
As MFTA’s Artist-in-Residence, Mattingly had unlimited access to MFTA’s warehouse of donated supplies, where she upcycled found objects to create the installations featured in her solo exhibition. Unified by the water coursing through them, the works invite gallery visitors to pause and take time, to sit with water, listen to it, emote with it, and consider all the wisdom life’s longest partner has to share.
Created from reclaimed materials from MFTA, the installation encourages visitors to remember that time is ecological, cyclical, and embodied.
“All Night I Hear the Noise of Water Sobbing” is on view at Materials for the Arts Gallery through July 16, 2026, welcoming visitors Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 4:30pm, excluding federal holidays. Admission to this exhibition is free and open to the public.
Photos courtesy of Stefan Hagen.
