Melissa Stern: The Talking Cure

Upper Tarlow Gallery

This multimedia exhibition by New York artist Melissa Stern combines the visual, literary, and performance arts and a spirited cast of characters formed from clay. Taking its name from Sigmund Freud’s original description of psychoanalysis, The Talking Cure is centered on Stern’s twelve ceramic sculptures, each one born from her own imagination. To bring them to life, the artist invited twelve writers to create inner monologues for each of the characters and twelve actors to perform them for audio recordings that are included in the exhibition. This uniquely interactive exhibition welcomes viewers to inhabit the artist’s mind and become part of the characters’ worlds.