So many things happen at the dining room table: Marriages are made and broken; families are dreamed of, then nourished; decisions are agonized over, then set in motion. It’s the central hub of our homes — the place where the mail is piled, the dinner is eaten and the important conversations happen. Artist Cassandra Emswiler Burd examines the significance of the centerpiece of domestic existence in her exhibition at the Erin Cluley Gallery (414 Fabrication St.), on view from Saturday until February 14. Flowers of War showcases Burd’s stunning hand-printed tiles, laid into fully functional breakfast tables. They invite discussion of the conflicting roles that tables played in the court of Louis XIV: one table was used by landscape architect André Le Nôtre to plan elaborate gardens, another by adviser Marquis de Vauban, to plan wars and military strategies. This narrative tool creates an interesting perspective on the way we employ seemingly benign domestic spaces. An opening reception will be held from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; gallery hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m Tuesdays through Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Visit erincluley.com for more.
Sat., Jan. 10, 6-8 p.m.; Tuesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: Jan. 10. Continues through Feb. 14, 2015