About the Exhibit: Impermanence

The Savannah Cultural Arts Center presents Impermanence, a solo exhibition showcasing the work of Kimberly Riner who uses mixed media ceramics to examine the parallels between death, mortality, and self-admiration. This body of work adds to conversations surrounding ephemerality that began in 15th century Europe. Riner achieves this by employing the Latin phrase memento mori, which translates to "remember you must die," and vanitas, a genre that analyzes vanity and transience. 

The vanitas genre thrived in the late 16th century, producing dark opulent still-life paintings depicting skulls, flowers, candles, and fruit, symbolizing life's inevitable transitory cycle. Riner is reinterpreting this famous genre by using classical iconography depicted in contemporary fashion and exploring the use of cell phones serving as a tool for self-admiration. This exhibition provides a unique view of vanitas through a 21st-century lens, ultimately operating as a visual reflection of how humans have contended with death for centuries. Riner use of mixed media ceramic breathes life into an unavoidable truth.

Impermanence contextualizes the juxtaposition between vanity and death, giving viewers the access to engage with a difficult topic that is often deemed taboo. 

About the Artist: Kimberly Riner

Kimberly Riner, Visual Arts Director, Averitt Center for the Arts, received her Master of Fine Art from Georgia Southern University in Sculpture with an emphasis in ceramics. Riner currently teaches at Georgia Southern University, and Ogeechee Technical College. She is actively involved in growing the art scene in the Statesboro area where she opened the Averitt Center’s new visual arts facility: The Roxie Remley Center for Fine Arts. 

Her artwork has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and is held in private collections.  Exhibition venues include: Mason City, IA; Atlanta, GA; North Charleston, SC; Lake City, SC; Fort Meyers, FL; Sheffield, England, UK. 

Riner lives with her husband, Richard and twin daughters Olivia and Alannah in Statesboro, GA.
Visit Riner's website.
Follow Riner on Instagram

Visit the Show

The exhibition will be on display from October 23 to December 1, 2021, with an opening reception on Friday October, 22. The gallery is free and open to the public during Savannah Cultural Arts Center operating hours, Monday through Saturday.

Opening Reception	All Ages FREE Friday, Oct 22 6:00-8:00pm	Join us for the opening reception of Impermanence with an artist talk at 7:00pm in the atrium.
Ceramic Tile Wall Hanging Kimberly Riner	Adult (17+) FREE Saturday, Nov 6 1:00-2:00pm	This free workshop is presented in conjunction with the current gallery exhibition, Impermanence. Using surface decoration techniques, such as sgraffito, each participant will create a low-relief scene on clay slabs. Underglazes will be added for color, and left at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center to be fired and clear glazed. After pick up the clay tiles can be wires together. All materials provided. Landscape scenes will be available for tracing, drawing skills are not required.

Gallery Hours and Information