The Mattress Factory will offer free admission from 1-5 p.m. May 19 in honor of its late founder, Barbara Luderowski.
Current exhibitions include “A Selection from the Greer Lankton Archive,” including various 2-D and 3-D pieces, and “Artists in Residence: William Earl Kofmehl III, Laleh Mehran, OSGEMEOS, Karina Smigla-Bobinski, and Christina A. West.”
Also displayed are permanent installations by William Anastasi and Jene Highstein.
The contemporary art space was founded by sculptor Luderowski in 1977 in an abandoned Stearns & Foster mattress warehouse at 500 Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Its mission is “to support artists working in residence to create site-specific installations. … (T)he museum has presented and commissioned new installation and performance works by more than 750 artists. The museum supports established and emerging artists through a residency program that provides leadership, guidance, resources and opportunities to create artwork that is unconventional, challenging and thought-provoking,” according to its website.
“Over four decades under Barbara’s leadership, the museum purchased and rehabilitated nine dilapidated buildings, converting them into artist residences, gallery spaces, administrative offices, an education studio, garden and museum parking lot. The museum’s presence on the North Side – Barbara’s presence – changed the neighborhood, and changed Pittsburgh,” says Mandy Wilson, director of marketing and communications.
Luderowski died May 30, 2018, at 88.
The Mattress Factory also has a museum shop featuring gift items, clothing and accessories, posters and prints, books, stationery and other items. Featured shop artist of the month is Vanessa Kettering, a Pittsburgh artist who incorporates natural materials into thrown forms including pottery and ceramics.
Details: 412-231-3169 or mattress.org
