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“A truly enjoyable and remarkable experience from start to finish”…This is how we would describe the rewarding partnership we formed with Charmaine upon commissioning a sculpture to “occupy” a prominent location in our Cleveland Heights home. We are ecstatic about the result (and show it off to family and friends at every opportunity) but are as equally enthusiastic about the process itself given the many positive attributes Charmaine “brought to the table.” She is uniquely multi-talented in a wide range of media but - more importantly – creative, approachable, intelligent, open (to our suggestions), perceptive, soulful, and passionate about her work. From her first visit to our home, to sketches of the piece, and on to completion, delivery & installation, she exhibited a non-egotistical, diligent and focused attitude resulting in an extraordinary piece of art. As mentioned earlier, she permitted us to be true partners in the process and it was a genuine joy to work with her.”
Nancy and Richard Bennett
THE FIFTH VESSEL | Transformer Station | Art Futures Fellowship 2025 Exhibition
The Fifth Vessel is a monumental sculptural inquiry into the physical form as a reliquary for discernment. In this landmark solo exhibition—the culmination of the FRONT Art Futures Fellowship—Charmaine Spencer presents a sophisticated fusion of raw geological matter and readily accessible organic materials. The collection navigates the dual pathways of human intellect: the pursuit of collective wisdom versus the architecture of systemic corruption.
Hosted by the Cleveland Museum of Art at the Transformer Station, this body of work establishes a sanctuary for intangible values—honor, integrity, and the sacred. By transforming humble, foundational elements into structures of immense presence, Spencer positions the vessel as a symbolic architecture for human accountability.
The Sentinel Series
A contemporary reliquary synthesizing ancient Canopic traditions with cardinal philosophies. These four monumental sentinels serve as a sanctuary designed to safeguard the essence of the sacred during times of profound global transition.
Falcon | West | Water: Introspection and Transition [PLACED: Private Collection]
Human | South | Fire: Passion and Youth
Baboon | North | Earth: Wisdom and Endurance
Jackal | East | Air: New Beginnings and Success
Wisdom and Asset
Suspended Sculpture
A testament to ancestral knowledge as a primary driver of evolution. Utilizing red clay—a reference to African traditions of ochre-based spiritual honoring—the work is interwoven with a cartography of lost-wax filigree gold beads. These "assets" redefine wealth not as material gain, but as the spiritual inheritance required to navigate modernity.
Bastions Subverted
Dual-Component Installation
This monumental installation serves as the collection’s definitive statement on the architecture of human connection and accountability.
The Core Vessel: Bastion
A primordial sanctuary of black clay and nutrient-dense "black gold" (earthworm castings). The interior houses an archive of shredded particulates illuminated by gold leaf, symbolizing the inherent value of a unified populace.
The Weighted Form: Subversion
Suspended in opposition, this dense, calculated form symbolizes the "mining" of human value. Bound by heavy gold-finished chains, it represents the weaponization of cherished values—where the sacred is transformed into shackles under systemic pressure.