Ethereal beauty of 'lunacy'
Sculptor Kimberly Chapman brings her “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” exhibit to CMU’s campus
Sculptures from Kimberly Chapman's “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” exhibit are displayed in the Park Library’s Baber Room Gallery, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (CMLife | Mia Kerner)
The exhibit residing in Central Michigan University’s Park Library combines hauntingly exquisite forms of sculpture with a dark and deep seeded history of mistreatment.
Available to experience in the Park Library’s Baber Room Gallery until July 20, Ohio-based sculptor Kimberly Chapman’s “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” provides a nuanced perspective of lunatic asylum admission.
Chapman’s work is devoted to the plights of women throughout history, specifically focusing on the rise of asylum admission from the 1840’s to the 1990’s. “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” details the forceful commitment and cruel treatment of women in asylums through the mediums of porcelain sculptures, tintype photography and resin displays.
The sculptor said she was moved to create this exhibit upon encountering a list of 86 reasons that warranted patient admission to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia.
Sculptures from Kimberly Chapman's “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” exhibit are displayed in the Park Library’s Baber Room Gallery, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (CMLife | Mia Kerner)
“When I saw those reasons like grief or menstrual problems or reading novels, I just got really upset and thought ‘This is really about silencing women through psychology’,” Chapman said.
She said that she was “hooked” on the subject, specifically the lack of autonomy that women of that time were allowed.
“It was a convenient way for husbands, fathers and uncles and brothers to get rid of wives, daughters (and) nieces,” Chapman said. “I think it was just a convenient way to dispose of them if they were either bored or too outspoken, if they broke some of the society's rules of the day.”
The impact of being stripped of one’s rights is evident through Chapman’s work, with many pieces portraying a distinct sense of captivity and degradation.
Displays from Kimberly Chapman's “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” exhibit are featured in the Park Library’s Baber Room Gallery, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (CMLife | Mia Kerner)
Following a 25-year career in corporate and collegiate marketing, Chapman said that she decided to attend the Cleveland Institute of Art, as her father did before her, to build a strong foundation in fine art.
Since then, she has participated in 55 group art exhibitions and 14 solo exhibitions, producing numerous collections on the struggles of women, such as “Hush” and “Easy Prey”.
Chapman said that though she has tried to pursue other topics of interest in her work, she always finds herself returning to “Eighty-six Reasons”.
“I keep hitting a wall and I keep finding new ways to expand the 86 reasons show. It is right now where my heart is,” Chapman said.
Sculptures from Kimberly Chapman's “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” exhibit are displayed in the Park Library’s Baber Room Gallery, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (CMLife | Mia Kerner)
As the exhibit travels to different galleries across the United States, Chapman said that she is continuously adding to and evolving her work. The current version of her exhibit residing at CMU features detailed suitcase and resin displays that have never been shown before.
Chapman said that she was introduced to CMU when faculty member Heather Trommer-Beardslee requested to use “Eight-six Reasons” as the theme for a theatre and dance performance in 2024. Set in an asylum, the performance featured female dancers wrapped in white gauze.
“It just was beautifully done,” she said. “It was so exciting seeing my sculptures literally come to life, it was just terrific.”
Physical expression such as dance or sculpting holds a special place in the heart of many artists, including Chapman.
“I find craft important for me," Chapman said. "It helps keep the demons at Bay to make sculptures like these that tell stories.”
Chapman said that her newly unveiled resin displays feature 80 resin detailed pieces, each containing a relic that contributes to a narrative about life in an asylum.
In her sculpture "Gold Masked Women", Chapman portrays three women restricted of speech, sight and hearing by molten gold and bound with straitjackets. The delicate nature of the porcelain is sharply contrasted by the golden restraints, representative of a woman's forced subordination within an asylum.
Chapman said that she loves using porcelain as her sculpting material, as it was the material that nobility often demanded their palaces be adorned with.
“I'm using it in a very different way," she said. "Not in a way of adornment, but in a way to teach the public about women in asylums. It's such a beautiful material and when you see the sculptures you might think, oh, that's pretty. And then you really study it and you realize, wow, that has a real sinister intent.”
A sculpture from Kimberly Chapman's “Eighty-six Reasons for Asylum Admission” exhibit is displayed in the Park Library’s Baber Room Gallery, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (CMLife | Mia Kerner)
The sinister intent of Chapman’s sculptures is palpable when viewing the exhibit as she utilizes a traditionally appealing material to convey a dark era of history.
Founded in historical fact, Chapman’s work has a distinct objective.
“My shows are very research based and the reason that I do them is because I want to educate people about asylum history,” Chapman said. “And especially under the umbrella of what women endured.
"So, it's telling the story of what women experienced in asylum so that they understand what happened in the past, so we don't repeat the same problems in the future."
An artist's reception for Chapman will be held from 4-7 p.m. on March 19 in the Baber Room Gallery.
Artist-led gallery walk-throughs will be available at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on March 20.
The exhibit and events featuring the sculptor are free of cost and open to the public.
