The Nave Gallery will host a group exhibition from through December 15 in its main gallery space in Teele Square. Featuring 10 regional and national artists, Reliquary focuses on the home as defined through concepts of enclosure, concealment, display, and the sacred and/or profane.

The group exhibition is curated by Susan Berstler, artist and director of the Nave Gallery and Nave Gallery Annex, and presents work by Berstler, Molly Blumberg, Skott Chandler, Carla Blakely Collins, Jennifer Drinkwater, Conny Goelz-Schmitt, Kris Hatch, Stephanie McGuinness, Jeanette O’Connor and Sara Romani.

The inspiration for Reliquary came from the gallery’s collaboration with the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC). As part of the Nave’s programming, the gallery hosts Wrap Around, an annual sale of handmade goods with proceeds benefiting SHC. Over the last two years, the sale has expanded into public art events where areas of the city have been “yarnstormed,” or covered in knitted or crocheted swatches. As part of this year’s program, Reliquary was conceived.

“Reliquary is a show that speaks to issues of home and homelessness,” says Berstler. “While I knew that I wanted the show to be reflective of what people hold sacred, much of the work in it revolves around the theme of ‘home.’ It wasn’t intentional, and it is a less common definition of the word ‘reliquary.’ The works illustrate how shelter, or more specifically, home, can be a shrine to what we hold sacred. My own installation piece, Home Equals, places common household items – rubber ducks and a clawfoot bathtub – in a temporary shelter based loosely on a Mongolian yurt, constructed from packing pallets and tree branches. The ground covering – cocoa shells donated by Taza – looks like dirt but smells chocolate. The piece is a juxtaposition of elements taken from both traditional and improvised shelters.”

Other artists in Reliquary work with inspiration from their own homes in very different ways. Skott Chandler’s pinhole photographs are taken from the unusual vantage point of the ceiling in his Chicago apartment. The long exposures show ghostly figures and movements, including Chandler and his dog as they move across the bedroom, dining room and kitchen.

In What You Leave Behind, Stephanie McGuinness explores how life events manifest themselves within the realm of private spaces through oil painting. Jeannette O’Connor’s mixed media sculpture, Begotten, reuses common materials, including foam, to create a dry hostile environment that nonetheless appears to be about to sprout new growth.

Reliquary runs until Sunday, December 15. An artists reception will take place from 3-5 p.m. on the 15th. The reception is open to the public.