RECAP // Breakfast In Bed: Valentine's Brunch @ the MF

This past Sunday, nearly 300 people joined us for our inaugural Valentine's Day Brunch. Love - and the aroma of fresh waffles - was in the air. Although usually closed on Sunday's, for Valentine's Day the Mattress Factory was open exclusively to Brunch attendees.

Visitors indulged in a scrumptious liège waffle spread courtesy of Pittsburgh favorite, Waffallonia, and spirits were high thanks to perfectly crafted mimosas and bloody mary's from local hot spots Salud Juicery and Wigle Whiskey. A huge thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated Valentine's Day with us, and our fantastic vendors for making this event one to remember!

RECAP // ARTLab: Weave a Memory

Everyone had so much fun creating our collaborative installation in the Lobby last Saturday for ARTlab. Visitors of all ages worked together to assemble a massive yarn web inspired by Chiharu Shiota's piece Trace of Memory. Instead of trapping memories, it felt like we were encapsulating giggles in our web box!

ARTLab February 20th 'Still life, a performance by Adam Milner' 

Our next ARTlab, 'Still life, a Performance by Adam Milner,' is on is on Saturday February 20th and will take place in the Mattress Factory Lobby. The Pittsburgh-based artist will be recruiting help from visitors to bring his piece together during ARTlab from 1 - 4. Stop by to help him out, or just to see what he is up to! This event is FREE with museum admission.

  

MF IN THE NEWS // Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On Monday, a major Mattress Factory announcement was featured by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette! The article discussed eminent artist James Turrell's gift of an iconic Skyspace to the museum's permanent collection.

RECAP // Factory 500: Martin Prekop's "Mirrored House"

On a chilly Saturday afternoon, Factory 500 members gathered at the home of artist, Martin Prekop in Fox Chapel. His home is appropriately referred to as the "Mirrored House," and is not a hard one to miss if you are driving by.

Built in the 1960s, and spanning an estimated 5,000 square feet, the "Mirrored House" is the long-time art project of Martin's. Martin moved to Pittsburgh over 20 years ago to serve as Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University for 12 years. He continues to teach at CMU, focusing mostly on photography. The "Mirrored House" has not only been an art project in and of itself, but is also the subject matter in Martin's photography. With a fully equipped dark room in the basement, Martin continues to create black and white photographs of his home.

After the Factory 500 members had some time to explore around the home, both interior and exterior, everyone congregated in a large room with floor to ceiling glass windows - which in the warmer months double as a garage door that opens up into a lush back yard. "How did you get started with the mirrors?" a Factory 500 member asked. Martin explained that after he bought the home he was washing his hands in the bathroom and looking out the window. "I was staring at a brick wall and what I really wanted to see was my backyard," he said. "So I put a mirror there outside on the brick." One mirrored brick led to two mirrored bricks, which led to thousands. "You never know how many bricks your home is made up of until you decide to put mirrors on every one," Martin quipped.

Twenty some years later, Martin's home is full of mirrors, artwork, records and stylish furniture - a real piece of installation art and a treat for Factory 500 members to experience.

Factory 500 is the Mattress Factory's premier membership program, chaired by Susan Lammie. The group tours private collections, artist studios, local businesses, and other interesting arts destinations in Pittsburgh several times throughout the year. Don't miss out - join today!

RECAP // Best of Instagram 2015!

What a year it's been! A lot has happened at the Mattress Factory, and what better way to remember it all than to embrace the nostalgia and reminisce with all the awesome pictures taken by visitors this year. The #mattressfactory hashtag has over 7,500 posts now (only a few of those are actually mattress related)! We thank you all for your continued support of the museum, and for documenting your visits so beautifully via Instagram. So here's to you MF visitors - our favorite Mattress Factory photos of the year!

Permanent Installations

by James Turrell, Greer Lankton, and Yayoi Kusama

photo creds: @petra_palumnbo, @paigebeers, @heatherkresge.photo, @ecervantez, @jendingding, @erinhollywould

The MF Garden

by Winifred Lutz

@412made, @davidsciortino, @ainemarielaff, @mzicka, @ofkrista

Factory Installed @ 1414 Monterey Street

by Jacob Douenias + Ethan Frier, Julie Schenkelberg, Anne Lindberg, and John Morris

@santi1916, @gregoryoleander, @ueckerist, @sluna7, @stripedarchitect

Factory Installed @ 500 Sampsonia Way

by Rob Voerman, Bill Smith, Lisa Sigal, and Marnie Weber

@codymsolberg, @pswansong, @cecilopezgonzalezduran, @marnieweberofficial, @santi1916, @steven_werth

Trace of Memory
by Chiharu Shiota

@kaela_speicher, @saracals, @moeian, @instakneels, @alk5161

Events

Dinner Lab, M is for Mattress Factory: Urban Garden Party, and an MF Wedding

@ginana17, @jeshaka, @mrbattle, @gavinbenjamin

Mattress Factory Views

@wanderburgher, @conormcgrann

Fun @ the Museum

@themightykim, @lordhissyfit, @kainazamaria, @ljhotojourneys, @heidimariemuller, @ayedud

That's all for this year folks! Don't forget to follow us on the Mattress Factory Instagram, and keep using the #mattressfactory tag in all your 2016 MF adventures for your chance to be featured as a guest photo on our account!

RECAP // ARTLab with Julie Schenkelberg

Last week we had a blast breaking plates and saucers at ARTLab! We were inspired by Julie Schenkelberg's piece on view at our gallery at 1414 Monterey Street, The Color of Temperance, Embodied Energy. Just as the artist did, visitors took a turn at breaking plates and then everyone helped to rearrange the broken pieces of the plates to give them new life in a collaborative installation.

The next ARTLab program is one for the holidays! On December 19, we will be creating scribble-machine wrapping paper for holiday present! The Mattress Factory Winter Art Market will also be in full swing, so you can wrap up your hand-made purchases with one-of-a-kind wrapping paper too.

ARTLab is a drop-in, hands-on interactive program for all ages.

RECAP // Mini-Factory: OPPOSITES

OPPOSITES attract... curious minds willing to explore, compare and talk about their surroundings! Mini-Factory dove head first into the world of OPPOSITES using Allan Wexler's Bed Sitting Rooms for an Artist in Residence this past weekend.

Vanessa Sica + Chris Kasabach have fun with Umbrella, an upside down umbrella serving as a light inside the gallery. How many OPPOSITES can you find in that piece?

Artists use OPPOSITES to invoke laughter, wit and reflection about the function of every day objects. As viewers, we take a second look, a second thought and perhaps the sparks of creativity shake up the routine of life for even just a moment.

Visiting Gene Highstein's piece Untitled also provided our intrepid group of artists an opportunity for learning more about OPPOSITES.



How did such a big piece get inside such a small room? It looks heavy and solid, but is actually light and hollow! Using our hands to explore, our group made some excellent observations and then put it to the test; taking a rough piece of wood, we created the OPPOSITE effect with sandpaper - smooth!

Inkblot art was the perfect way to wrap up our hour together! Paint on one side of your paper and fold in half to create the OPPOSITE design.

Mini-Factory is an interactive learning program for children ages 3-5 and a parent/caregiver. Using contemporary installation art, parents and children will explore new ideas and concepts from the everyday world. Join us on January 9 for Mini-Factory: STORIES!