American Interior
Dan Gunn’s American Interior blends American folk art, craft tradition, design history, and contemporary art. Gunn incorporates objects from the WPA-era Index of American Design into his carved wood relief Scenery series, embedding them within theatrical, drapery-like backdrops. This patchwork arrangement allows these curated artifacts—once selected expressly to construct a “usable past”—to now serve as a means to interrogate sublimated American mythologies.
Alongside these sculptures, Gunn’s use of modular, stenciled wall paintings references colonial-era interiors and revivalist nostalgia, turning them toward new ends. American Interior plays on multiple meanings of “interior”: as Midwestern heartland, as the nation’s collective psyche, and as decorative domestic space. Opening in April 2026, alongside the 250th anniversary of American independence, the exhibition offers a nuanced and timely exploration of America’s evolving self-conception.
145 North Second Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
+1 215 625 9990