TWIN WIN
Summer Ester Orr, August 26th - September 30th, 2023

My mom (Maura Antonia Orr, identical twin) always speaks of luck like it is something you can see, on your hands or your body. Maybe an aura, or a particle barely discernible to the human eye. I imagine it as pollen, like when you touch a flower and leave thumbprints of yellow on your clothes. She always tells the same story, as working in downtown Reno for several decades gives you a specific perspective about winning and losing. My mom says, when you are winning, you don’t leave the table. That she’s seen people with the chips stacked up, thousands in hand, get up to go to the bathroom and upon returning, they lose everything. The luck has left the room, left your hands, left your body.

The work in TWIN WIN is a mixture of ceramic & wood sculptures made in 2023. The Outpost has been turned into a chapel of luck, lined with objects I have created to manifest a specific outcome. These pieces are also meditations on the larger world of iconic symbols in and around Reno. I am adding my own context and personal history to a lineage of imagery that has vastly evolved over time, from medieval pageantry to the LED slot machines in gas stations on the outskirts of town. The viewer has the option to play a round of poker, professionally dealt by my mom, Maura. The poker tournament creates an opportunity to win or lose in an articulated setting, to try your hand in a temporary casino, in the safety of friends and family.

Summer Ester Orr lived and worked in Reno for 25 years. She currently resides in the small farming town of Paonia, Colorado, experimenting with ceramic, wood and metal. 
Contact her at [email protected], or on instagram: @summer.eorr