Tent, 1998–2015

The promise of shelter offered by the colorful tent at the center of this work by Maria Roosen (1957, the Netherlands) is illusionary. Roosen scaled down her old camping tent rendering it unsuitable for sleeping. It can only be reached after having navigated a collection of Roosen’s signature round-bellied glass pitchers that act as its anchors. Referring to her installations and glass sculptures as “tools for feeling,” Roosen seems with this work to be reflecting upon the hurdles that must oftentimes be overcome before a promise of shelter becomes reality.