The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

Risa Puno makes interactive sculptures and installations that put a playful twist on familiar pastimes and amusements. She investigates the language of communal objects and spaces, and builds works that changes how we think about, and define, community. Whether she’s building jungle gyms, mazes, golf courses, or benches, Puno creates points of access that allow participants to feel nostalgia, desire, competition, comfort, or even frustration. The key to understanding her work is to physically engage with it —to use it, play with it, touch it, and sometimes even smell or taste it. While she makes every effort to craft objects that are beautiful and alluring, her main objective is to create evocative and memorable experiences for the people who use them.