Skirball Cultural Center · Sepulveda Pass / Brentwood

Common Ground

En cartellFins al 2 de gener del 2028·Gratis

LA artist Adam Silverman fired 224 ceramic vessels from clay and ash gathered across all 50 states, celebrating American pluralism through shared meals.

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Look at the handles on the ceremonial pots. Adam Silverman shaped them like ears, because, he told Hyperallergic, "these things are here to listen." Every pot, plate, bowl and cup is glazed with one mix of clay, wood ash and water from all 50 states, Washington DC and five US territories, much of it posted by strangers who answered his request on Instagram.

You find all 224 pieces in Ruby Commons, in a cabinet Kulapat Yantrasast modelled on cabinets of curiosities and American kitchen hutches, beside glass jars holding the samples from each place. The pots aren't symmetrical. They were beaten, and Silverman left the repairs showing as "sutures", which he calls "the scars of a young nation."

It's one cabinet, so it's a short stop on a Skirball visit, not a trip on its own. The set also gets used: the Skirball serves themed community dinners on it, and its 2025 press release mentions sold-out programs. Common Ground is free for Skirball visitors, and admission is free Thursdays.

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The ear-shaped handles
Look at the ceremonial pots' handles, which Silverman made like ears because the pieces are meant to listen.
The visible repairs
The pots are beaten and lopsided, and Silverman left the mended cracks showing as what he calls the scars of a young nation.
The specimen jars
Glass jars beside the tableware hold the separate samples of water, wood ash and clay sent from each state and territory.
The kitchen-hutch cabinet
All 224 plates, bowls, cups and pots sit in one cabinet by architect Kulapat Yantrasast, part curiosity cabinet, part American kitchen hutch.