For this edition of Art Mile, the MSU Broad Art Museum presents the work of David Flaugher (b. Detroit, 1986), who is the focus of an upcoming solo exhibition. This preview highlights Flaugher's practice and provides insights to his growing repertoire, while also teasing out the many resonances between his work and the city the artist calls home. Located in East Lansing, MI, the MSU Broad Art Museum is committed to featuring the work of the state's most prominent and exciting artists, maintaining a close relationship with the arts ecosystem of Detroit.

Flaugher encourages contemplation of the cultural and emotive power of everyday things through his work. Influenced by the homes and studio spaces he has occupied, as well as his previous jobs at Detroit-based construction companies that clear out the personal items and debris left behind in foreclosed homes, the artist considers the shifting values and associations held by cast-off materials.

The exhibition David Flaugher, on view at the MSU Broad Art Museum from July 10, 2021–January 16, 2022, will present new sculptures and paintings by the artist that combine objects and imagery of leisure and celebration, such as decorative lights and snowmen, with an aesthetics of abandonment. The sculptural works carry the accumulated traces of human activity, and both draw attention to and disrupt the intended function of the found objects that comprise them. The exhibition focuses on intimate family histories—stories of economic struggles and housing insecurity, but also of celebration and joy—and offers a broader critical perspective on the social, political, and economic structures that frame them. 

About the MSU Broad Art Museum

The MSU Broad Art Museum connects people with art through experiences that inspire curiosity and inquiry. With a focus on the art of our time—in dialogue with the historical—the museum encourages engagement with timely issues of local relevance and global significance. Through a program that features local, national, and international artists, a permanent collection of over 10,000 works, and dynamic public programming, the MSU Broad Art Museum advances the values of quality, inclusion, and connectivity that are paramount to Michigan State University.

David Flaugher is organized by the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University as part of the Artist Project Series and curated by Georgia Erger, Assistant Curator. Support for this series is provided by the MSU Federal Credit Union.