Sandy Skoglund: Shimmering Madness
Curator. Consolidated Works, Seattle. October - November 1999
Shimmering Madness is a large-scale solo exhibition by Sandy Skoglund, presented alongside the inaugural exhibition Artificial Life at Consolidated Works in Seattle. The installation transforms the gallery into a surreal, immersive environment: life-sized dancing figures inhabit a floor entirely covered in jelly beans, while two walls are carpeted with butterflies, filling the space with vibrant color and a sweet, sensory aroma. Accompanying the installation are large-scale photographs depicting similarly intricate tableaux, in which figures—human and mannequin—interact with environments constructed from Chee-tos, neon green cats, raisins, and plastic fish. Each composition demonstrates Skoglund’s meticulous hand-building process, revealing the extraordinary labor and precision behind what might at first glance appear digitally manipulated.
Skoglund’s work combines visual spectacle with subtle psychological tension, creating surreal worlds that are at once playful and unsettling. Saturated colors, repetitive patterns, and familiar objects populate these environments, while a pervasive melancholy underscores the sense that humanity is simultaneously celebrated and trapped within its own creations. Shimmering Madness marks the first West Coast survey of Skoglund’s practice, introducing audiences to her iconic approach to staged photography and installation, and affirming her role as a seminal figure in contemporary art whose work continues to blur the boundaries between reality, fantasy, and the uncanny.
This exhibition marked the grand opening on Consolidated Works, Seattle, cofounded by Matthew Richter and Meg Shiffler.
About Sandy Skoglund
Sandy Skoglund is an American photographer and installation artist known for her fantastical, meticulously constructed tableaus that blend sculpture, set design, and photography. Born in 1946, she began her career experimenting with conceptual and process-based art before developing her distinctive approach of building elaborate, surreal environments from the ground up. Using vibrant color palettes and repeating motifs—often involving animals, food, or furniture—Skoglund stages her scenes in full-scale installations, which she then captures in a single, carefully composed photograph. These images function as both documentation and final artwork, preserving ephemeral worlds that exist only long enough to be photographed.
Skoglund’s work is instantly recognizable for its dreamlike quality, rich detail, and uncanny balance between whimsy and unease. Her photographs invite viewers into spaces that feel both familiar and strange—domestic rooms filled with brightly colored cats, goldfish floating midair, popcorn raining from the ceiling. She has exhibited widely in solo shows across the U.S. and internationally, including major presentations at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Akron Art Museum. Skoglund’s work is held in numerous museum collections, including the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Among her honors are a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Over decades of practice, she has built a lasting legacy as a pioneer in staged photography, transforming the way we understand installation, image-making, and the surreal possibilities of everyday life.