Rupture presents metalsmith Emily Culver’s sculptural study of how bodies and their meanings are shaped by medical history, myth, and evolving technologies. Blending anatomical suggestion with altered instruments and hybrid relics, the exhibited objects blur boundaries between the mechanical and the organic. With these works, Culver recontextualizes the body as a shifting system - one continually rewritten, destabilized, and reimagined - revealing new possibilities in moments where familiar structures begin to break apart.


Stereoscopic Flesh, Illusionary Organ / 2023-24 / photopolymer / 7” x 5.5-5.75” x 3.25” each

Stereoscopic Flesh, Illusionary Organ explores the intersection of the human body and the complexities of perception. By merging digitally created optical illusions with physical organic forms, these works blur boundaries between the tangible and the phantasmic. They are a reflection of the fragility and malleability of both the body and our understanding of it.

The viewer is invited to manifest, or evoke, hidden dimensions veiled within the textured skin through the intimate act of looking:

Suggestions for viewing include placing your face directly in front and slowly moving the stereogram away, focusing on a distant object and moving the stereogram into view, and relaxing your eyes to focus slowly.

The funding for this project was provided in part by a Summer Research Fellowship Project Grant from Old Dominion University.

Material Alchemy / 2024 Edition of RJM

These jewelry works evoke the alchemical transformation of both synthetic and natural materials. Reclaimed silver has been melted, poured and reshaped while plastic remnants have been cut, formed and polished - both undergoing the transformative power of heat. The suggestive ebb and flow of material serves as a subtle reminder of the transient and fluid existence of all matter of this world.

Brooch / 3” x 1” x .75” / recycled sterling silver, plastic bead, pearl

Earrings / 3” x .5” x .25” / recycled sterling silver, plastic barrette, pearls

Necklace / 18” x .5” x .25” / recycled sterling silver, plastic bangle

  • What : Visiting Artist

    Where : Missouri State University, MO

    When : FA 25

  • What : Supper Club, Group Exhibition

    Where : The Jewelry Library, NY

    When : FA 25

  • What : Rupture, Solo Exhibition

    Where : Binghamton University, NY

    When : SP 26

  • What : t e s t i m o n y, Group Exhibition

    Where : Reynold’s Gallery, VA

    When : SP 26

RECENT / CURRENT / UPCOMING