https://emuseum.gardinermuseum.com/internal/media/dispatcher/19581/fullWhen the Cat in the Copycat Was a Dog2016Jim MelchertOverall (each): 29.3 × 28.5 cm (11 9/16 × 11 1/4 in.)Broken and glazed porcelain tiles; picture mounted on foam coreGift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York; Hassam, Speicher, Betts and Symons Fund, 2018
Photographer credit: Renée Melchert ThorpeG18.4.1a-e0The work consists of four industrially produced ceramic tiles and one photograph. Since the early 1990s, the artist has worked principally with pre-fabricated tile, generally breaking it and adding glaze in response. Melchert, having been a prominent figure in the Bay Area conceptual art world, has long employed chance operations and rule-based systems in his work. In this piece, the abstract pattern of breakages and glaze derive from the photo included with the work.Modern and Contemporary CeramicsModern and Contemporary - American2018-2019 New Acquisitions[]Modern and Contemporary CeramicsAmerican1817057821AmericanSigned Jim Melchert