ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

Sanzi Kermes: Hummm Thrummm
On View: October 6 – November 9, 2025
Closing Reception: November 4 | 4 PM to 6 PM
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday | 4 PM to 7 PM

In Hummm Thrummm, Baltimore artist Sanzi Kermes transforms repurposed wedding dresses into living testaments of memory using techniques that are ubiquitous in her art practice. Kermes has added layers of visual appeal that include fabric, beads, and origami memorabilia. The multi-channel audio, with cicadas, crickets, traffic noises, and Lorraine’s recordings of her own haiku set to her rhythmic music, adds layering to the visual cues at hand.

Painted, screen printed, beaded, and layered with whispered stories, each dress hums with ancestral echoes — the thrum of thread and heartbeat runs through its seams. This immersive installation invites you to move among altered artifacts of love, ritual, and expectation—listening not just with your ears, but with your whole body.

The palette of color and sound collectively create an environment that Kermes hopes brings you wonder, peace, and curiosity.

Galena (blue) is her most deconstructed work to date, playing with material and form. Lorraine (gold and copper), plays tribute to Kermes’ composer friend by integrating piano wires in its presentation in the gallery.

Josie (pink) is a loving tribute to a lifelong and enduring friendship between two older women who met in first grade and have spanned decades of life’s journeys together. Look closely among the folds for letters between these friends and between the fellas who have all remained
connected.

Olivia (green/yellow) is so named in honor of the beautiful young woman who graced its threads when she modeled the gown in the autumn of 2023. Olivia died from metastatic breast cancer at 27.

Ancestors (neutral) is a collaboration between Sanzi and Kini Collins, another Baltimore artist who approaches her art practice with a strong eastern aesthetic. The artists met in 1996 and have forged a strong bond and deep respect for one another’s work.