Attritio

In the exhibition A Mouth-Shaped Room (2019), Philadelphia-based artist David R. Harper transformed the Villa Terrace into an illusory world of historic fiction by activating the entire house with sculpture, transformed objects, and installations. Harper referenced the museum’s history as a decorative arts museum by using images and objects influenced by various eras, such as Greco-Roman figures, plant and animal studies from the 19th century, handmade wood vitrines, and stained glass. Suggesting that traditional ways of categorizing art genres and movements are permeable and changing, Harper composed his installations in imaginative ways that combined contemporary sensibilities with a reverence for the past. Curated by Shana McCaw, Senior Curator, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum.

Photography by Rich Maciejewski.