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Commissioned Art Experience

A heavy dose of art in our daily lives is joyful and stimulates our own creativity

Queens Wedgewood-Houston called upon famed design studio Home Ec. by Natalie Papier to curate our art collection. Home Ec. has deep artist relationships in Nashville and around the world from which she drew upon to enrich and inspire while complementing and enhancing Queens’ architectural and interior design.  

Home Ec. is a multifaceted Chicago-born and now Charlotte-based design studio that spans commercial art curation, product design (Mitzi lighting and Mitchell Black wallpaper collections), interior design (Papier is the interior designer on Magnolia Network’s Artfully Designed on HBO), and book author (Papier & Sisco, Home Is Where the Art Is, Voracious, 2024).

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Artist embracing a giant illuminated toadstool at Queens Wedgewood-Houston in Nashville, Tennessee

Meredith Connelly

@meredith.connelly

I have been sculpturally exploring fungal formations since 2019. As part of my creative process, I hike and “photographically forage” for inspiration, visually examining the diverse blooms, colors, and spaces that fungal specimens inhabit.

Neither plant nor animal, fungi have incredible and dynamic characteristics. The function and role of mushrooms across the globe are incomparable. They are an interconnected network and research shows they communicate using electrical impulses through their mycelium, much like neurotransmitters within the human mind. They have the capability to heal the environment and the body and activate dormant areas of the brain. My intention is to use light as a material to bring this energy to sculptural iterations of my mushroom clusters.

Clustered is a series of four cast fiberglass illuminated groupings of mushroom objects that comprise the permanent public art installation at Queens Wedgewood-Houston. This multisensory activation is intended to invite viewers to explore and engage with the natural surroundings in the middle of a bustling city environment.

I draw inspiration from science, nature, and technology. It is my goal to conceptualize works that act as bridges between these complex and interwoven disciplines while putting emphasis on the importance of connectivity through an authentic interactive and multi-sensory experience.

My creative process uses the exploration of technology as an integral part of how I visually communicate. During the last decade my artistic practice, technology, and lighting have been my primary materials. Like nature, the technological landscape is ever-changing and I remain driven to explore and push the boundaries of its uses in my work. Specifically in work that is open and free to the public to engage directly with.

I deeply believe public interactive art is a powerful catalyst that fosters connection, community, healing, and transcends cultural barriers such as age, race, and socioeconomic status. It encourages congregation in a space and draws in new and diverse demographics. At the core, my work is about connectivity, and using light as a material reaches beyond the sculptural form and draws the viewer to the work.

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