Out of Pocket: Memory in Reverb · Jonathan Durham
Opening Reception Friday, March 6, 6–9 PM
On view Saturdays, 1–5 PM
March 6–April 11
Out of Pocket: Memory in Reverb is an exhibition by Jonathan Durham that expands his sculptural exploration of memory, cognitive decline, and the unstable nature of remembering. Drawing from his experience caring for his mother during her final years with Alzheimer’s disease, the work centers on two behavioral traits common to the condition: Looping and Pocketing, which function as both subject matter and sculptural logic.
Looping—the compulsive repetition of words, questions, or gestures—appears through iterative sculptural forms that return with subtle shifts and mutations. These repeated structures mirror how memory circulates without resolution, producing meaning through variation rather than progression. Pocketing—the act of holding food in the mouth without swallowing—inspires works that pack, conceal, and compress objects within bodily cavities, resisting closure or release.
Together, these strategies frame memory as an embodied and slippery process rather than a fixed archive. The exhibition foregrounds confabulation—the mind’s unintentional filling of memory gaps—as a creative, if fragile, survival mechanism. Objects become sites where experience is absorbed, distorted, and reconfigured, inviting viewers to consider memory not as something retrieved intact, but as something continually carried, reshaped, and improvised in the face of loss.
Jonathan Durham received his MFA in Sculpture from UCLA and completed a two-year residency at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s CORE Program in 2007. His practice examines the shifting boundary between the self and the environment, confronting how industry and technology leave lasting marks on consciousness, bodies and landscapes. Through sculptural installation, video and performance, Durham draws connections between environmental damage, cognitive decline, and forms of state violence. His work has been exhibited internationally including Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Galerie fur Gegenwartskunst, Bremen, Germany. He is the recipient of an Aunspaugh Fellowship from the University of Virginia where he received a dual BA in Studio Art and Psychology. He has taught Sculpture, Drawing, Performance and Critical Issues Seminars at the University of Virginia, Rice University, University of Houston, Auburn University and the Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore County Alabama. Durham has participated in numerous artist residencies including VCCA, Recess, NY,.“Session", SHIFT -The Elizabeth Foundation, Socrates Sculpture Park EFA Program, Bemis Arts Center and the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Durham is Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.
Website: jonathandurham.com
Instagram: @durhamjonathan