Meat and Potato at the Nest

Is there meat culture? Absolutely. I witnessed it first-hand at the Nest gallery in Napa last Saturday. Over the next few weeks, "Meat and Potato" curated by Ashley Teplin and Ann Trinca explores how we interact with meat and how it sparks our creativity.

Eyes and stomachs were both open on Saturday evening, as opening night attendees feasted on lamb lettuce wraps, freshly deep-fried potatoes, charcuterie, and local wines. The multi-sensory conflagration of food, beverages, and multi-media meat and potato art had the crowd fired up.

The exhibit features paintings and photographs by Ashley Teplin and Tom Patton (see above), video by John Porter McMeans featuring the Potato Song, a fascinating collection of objects from Heritage Culinary Artifacts, and stuffed plush toys shaped like steaks, chops and hams.

"People are seeking a closer relationship with what we eat, where it originates, and how it is processed," according to Sasha Wizansky, editor of the meat culture magazine, Meatpaper. As a meat eater, I love slicing into a juicy medium-rare rib-eye steak. I've seen and smelled the stockyards off I-5 so I know where the meat is coming from and I'm not thrilled about it, but what's a suburban dweller to do? Raise my own backyard steer and butcher it myself, wrapping it into little packages for the freezer? Sounds like a monstrous and impractical undertaking for a good steak. Instead, I buy it at the grocery store and I'm comfortable with that. Some of us give thanks to the beast and all those who brought it to our table, others go above and beyond by creating beautiful and quirky art objects as a result. The exhibit at the Nest is one setting where we can examine our relationship with meat, it's beauty or grotesqueness, it's complex politics and economics, and come to terms with it's artful aspects. 

"Meat and Potato"exhibit is at Napa Nest gallery through March 15. Hours are 10 to 6 Thursday to Saturday. The Nest is located at 1019 Atlas peak Rd. behind Jessel Gallery in Napa. For more info visit www.napanest.com or call 707-255-7484.