by Martha Grover | Mar 4, 2015 | 2015 Exhibitions, Featured
Dot. Dot. Dot.
There are certain design elements and motifs that have resonance for all humans across the globe. Often they are created by nature, and then repeated or distilled into patterns by artists. They can be mixed up and used in a variety of forms which we find mesmerizing. One such element is the humble “dot.” The dot is such a simple element, but it has universal appeal.
Dots are everywhere! The rocks in a river appear as colored dots. Animals wear dots. We decorate our walls and clothes with dots. Flowers attract pollinators with dots. Some of us have dots on our faces. We make language with dots and cover our toilet paper with dots. Even our digital “Dot Com” world is literally dots—TV, computer, and printed images are all made up of dots.
The concept for this show is to bring together nine artists who all use dots in their work and to examine the many reasons and ways in which a simple dot can be incorporated in pottery—surface drawing, glaze design, glaze resist, carving, relief, piercing, etc. Patterns of dots can express nature, movement, humor, culture, or concealment—universal topics that connect with all audiences. Some of the artists look to the natural world and mirror its use of dots, others gravitate towards the manmade world and industrially produced dot patterns. Others still use the dot as form and negative space rather than surface decoration. Each individual artist takes this very simple element and uses it to express many ideas.
Curatorial Statement:
I chose each of the artists for this show because of the varied way that they incorporate dots into their work. Andrew Gilliatt’s slipcast pots use patterns of glaze dots layered with custom decals that use dots to represent natural forms, like sunflowers, or dots of varying sizes to make optical illusions on the surface of his pieces. Chris Pickett reduces flowers into geometric forms, stripping away their nature to leave dots and lines that are raised on the surface of his hollow slab built forms. Emily Free Wilson decorates the surface of her pinched vessels with lines and dots making lush landscapes of patterns within patterns. Jana Evans inlays underglaze into the surface of her wheel thrown pots making intense dot patterns that draw the eye closer to the piece. In my work, I embellish the edges of my pots with dots that replicate the dappled patterns of orchid petals which attract insects deep into the inner folds of the flower. Meredith Host obsesses over the dot patterns that abound and are overlooked in our built environment finding inspiration in the surface of toilet paper and paper towels, which she then extrapolates into mesmerizing surfaces on her functional wares. Paul Donnelly and Rain Harris have just begun to make a series of collaborative pots that utilize Rain’s cascading dot surface design and Paul’s tight throwing skills to create fascinating utilitarian wares. Sunshine Cobb uses dots to pierce through the surface of her baskets, revealing and concealing the contents within.
by Kevin Ramler | Mar 1, 2015 | 2015 Conference, 2015 Exhibitions, Featured, Member Stories
High Drama! Free Xuns! Ceramic Rayguns! Statistical Analysis! What else could you ask for from a work of art?
I am extremely excited to be debuting a new interactive performance at the conference this year. A Very Serious Game has been crafted especially for NCECA and every conference attendee will be a player in this expansive, experimental game. These players, or Væssals, will go about their normal business- attending lectures, visiting galleries, shopping for tools, and connecting with friends old and new. Meanwhile a gang of hand-selected “assassins” will be roaming the corridors and galleries of NCECA, armed with a device of my own invention, the Functional Ceramic Raygun. The assassins chooses a target, approaches, and (while demonstrating the proper use of the Raygun) politely inform the væssal that they have been eliminated from the game. Their victim will receive a card, which they can take to the Xun Zone Headquarters located in the Project Space area. There they will find me ensconced in the Xun Zone, collecting and mapping player data and tracking the progress of the game. Assassinated væssals may present me with their card, which I will validate. As consolation for their elimination I will present them with a Free Xun.
Crates of xuns from The Xun Project
A Very Serious Game is part of my ongoing body of work The Xun Project. The goal of this project is to develop new and interesting ways to distribute free xuns. So far I have given away over 600 xuns and I will add 500 more to that tally through A Very Serious Game. The game revolves around a reversal of traditional expectations of victory; players who are eliminated are awarded a free xun, while players who persevere and win the game receive no reward.The game also highlights the ways in which systems are influenced by a variety of outside forces. By analyzing the data collected during the game I maybe be able to map extended personal networks and I may discover that there is true randomness present in peoples choices. The data collected will be real but skewed and ultimately meaningless, and yet it measures a meaningful effect on peoples lives. In this case the stakes are low, 500 players will leave with a xun and the rest will not. But what are the implications when this kind of influence skews systems that are meant to be balanced, meritocratic, or blind?
A Very Serious Game will be one of three Project Spaces at the Providence NCECA. Project Spaces offer the opportunity for artists to create and present site, time, or performance based work at the conference. They allow for elaborate or interactive works that might not fit in traditional exhibit spaces and complement the object based work presented in the gallery expo.
For more about A Very Serious Game and The Xun Project visit my kickstarter page or check out my website.
by Cindy Bracker, Communications Director | Feb 24, 2015 | 2015 Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Featured
Held annually, this exhibition (formally known as the “Regional Student Juried Exhibition”) showcases undergraduate and graduate student work. In 2010, the NCECA Student Juried Exhibition expanded to a NATIONAL competition. The jurors for this year’s exhibition were Ryan LaBar and Magdalene Odundo.
Ryan LaBar grew up in Great Falls Montana. He received a degree in Biology and Art from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. In 1999, he moved to Helena, Montana and set up a studio. He has worked as a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation, the LH Project, California State University Long Beach, and Caldera. Additionally LaBar has worked internationally in residencies in China, Bali, and Poland and has spent time at the Kohler Factory in Wisconsin and Meissen Manufaktur in Germany. LaBar received his MFA at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and was a subject of Nebraska Television’s “Nebraska Story”. Currently, he is the program director of the LH Project, a prestigious residency program in Joseph, Oregon.
Primarily a vessel maker, Magdalene Odundo was born in Africa, educated in England, and has work in museums, galleries, and private collections across the world. Odundo has had dozens of solo shows and participated in countless group exhibitions. She brings an internationally renowned, time-tempered aesthetic that reaches far beyond traditional pottery. Odundo has been appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honour’s List for Services to the Arts, as well as Patron & Trustee by the English National Society for Education of Art & Design. She continues to make and show work, teach, and participate in residencies and workshops. She works and lives in Surrey, England.
Included in this year’s exhibition features the work of 37 current students at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate levels.
You can see the work of Angela Biederman, Rachel Bigley, Eric Broz, Hannah Cameron, Ivan Carmona, Andrew Castaneda, Sara Catapano, Trisha Coates, Nicholas Danielson, Andrea Denniston, Louise Deroualle, Jonathan Farrell, Stuart Gair, Michael Gesiakowski, Margaret Gormley, William Harning, Sarah Heitmeyer, Hiromi Iyoda, Wansoo Kim, Patrick Kingshill, Ellen Kleckner, Michelle Laxalt, Wen-Dan Lin, Candice Methe, James Mitschmyer, Sara Morales-Morgan, Abby Nohai, Brent Pafford, Anthony Pearson, Jason Piccoli, Tonya Shanholtz, Mitchell Spain, Scott Steder, Kelly Stevenson, Michael Ware, Christina Warzecha, Austin Wieland in person at the Sol Koffler Gallery on the RISD campus during the following special extended hours:
- Sun-Tue 12-6pm;
- Wed 10am-6pm;
- Thu 12pm – 9:30pm, Reception 6-8pm
- Fri-Sat 12pm – 6pm;
by Cindy Bracker, Communications Director | Feb 14, 2015 | 2015 Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Featured, Inside NCECA
Welcome back! This week, I’ll be returning to the topic of exhibitions and transportation. Bus Tours were discussed in detail in Issue 1 and Issue 2 of this blog column. This week, we look at SHUTTLES. Unlike the Bus TOURS, shuttles run a continuous loop and you can hop on and hop off at any time. Spend as long as you like at each stop! Just remember, the bus does NOT wait for you, so when you leave the gallery or museum, don’t worry if there is no bus sitting there, they do stop regularly.
Here’s a PRO-TIP: Ask the driver for the approximate drive time of a complete loop and how often the shuttles leave the convention center (frequency is based on total number of ticket sales for each shuttle). With that information, you can predict approximately when the shuttle bus will be returning to each stop! Then you can more carefully plan your time at each stop and maximize your efficiency!
There are 4 separate shuttle options, and tickets are only $20 before the conference ($25 on-site) All shuttles run on Wednesday, leaving the conference center at 10:00 AM (from the Sabin Street side). The final bus for picking up from galleries will leave the convention center at 5:00pm. The Shuttle for Route A will also run Thursday evening for receptions from 5:00pm-9:00pm. The Shuttle for Routes C & D will also run Friday evening for receptions, also from 5:00pm-9:00pm. Tickets for the wednesday shuttles are not valid for receptions shuttles and vice-versa. A separate ticket is required.
Route A – East
Stop 1
Mitchell Spain – Destruction of Empire
Porcelain, Ceramic Decal, 2014
63″ x 14″ x 11.75″
2015 National Student Juried Exhibition
Juried by Ryan LaBar and Magdalene Odundo, NCECA’s National Student Juried Exhibition features the work of current students at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate levels:
Angela Biederman, Rachel Bigley, Eric Broz, Hannah Cameron, Ivan Carmona, Andrew Castaneda, Sara Catapano, Trisha Coates, Nicholas Danielson, Andrea Denniston, Louise Deroualle, Jonathan Farrell, Stuart Gair, Michael Gesiakowski, Margaret Gormley, William Harning, Sarah Heitmeyer, Hiromi Iyoda, Wansoo Kim, Patrick Kingshill, Ellen Kleckner, Michelle Laxalt, Wen-Dan Lin, Candice Methe, James Mitschmyer, Sara Morales-Morgan, Abby Nohai, Brent Pafford, Anthony Pearson, Jason Piccoli, Tonya Shanholtz, Mitchell Spain, Scott Steder, Kelly Stevenson, Michael Ware, Christina Warzecha, Austin Wieland.
Hours during NCECA: Sun-Tue 12-6pm; Wed 10am-6pm; Thu-Sat 12pm – 6pm; Thu 3/26 hours extended to 9:30pm (daily hours extended until 8 with RISD ID) Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 6-8pm. Mar 21-Apr 9.
Stop 2
Porcelain in Three
John Oles, Seth Rainville, and Susan Schultz. Featuring works in porcelain from three distinctly different Ceramists, Porcelain in Three explores the reaches of the elusive material (Sculpture, Vessels, Narrative). Organized by Seth Rainville and Kimberly Charles.
Hours during NCECA: Tue 11am-6pm; Wed 10am- 6pm; Thu-Sat 11am-6pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 5-9:30pm. Mar 7-28.
Stop 3
Metcalf Galleries
Risky
RISD students, residency alums, faculty, and faculty alums. Multiple exhibitions of RISD students, residency alums, faculty, and faculty alums. Organized by Katy Schimert and Lawrence Bush.
Hours during NCECA: Tue by appt; Wed 10am-7pm; Thu & Fri 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 5-7pm. Mar 24-28.
ISB Gallery
Jim Melchert: Incubator for Ideas
Jim Melchert, Jim Shrosbree, Janet Koplos, Glenn Adamson, and others. Gallery as participatory lab exploring conceptual practice as object, image, process; materializing, dematerializing, re- materializing, using recent work by defining Conceptual artist Jim Melchert. Curated by Paul Kotula.
Hours during NCECA: Wed 10am-6pm; Thu & Fri 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 4-8pm. Mar 25-28
preview for collectors by appt Mar 24.
RISD Museum: Ceramics Free admission w/ NCECA badge, Ancient, Chinese, Japanese, European 16th-20st centuries, American 18th-21st centuries, Chinese exportware. Ceramics of all eras and cultures can be found throughout the Museum. Of particular note are the Porcelain Gallery and the Farago Bridge Gallery, and Granoff Modern and Contemporary Galleries. Curated by Elizabeth Williams, Curator of Decorative Arts and Design.
Hours during NCECA: Sun 10am-5pm; Tue-Sat 10am-5pm; Thu hours extended to 9pm. Special free lecture: Meredith Chilton is speaking “Porcelain Wars: The Rivalry Between Meissen and Du Paquier”, Metcalf Auditorium, Thu, Mar 26 2pm. Ongoing.
Memorial Hall Gallery
RISD: Radical Investigations of Systems and (Dis)connections
Kelli Rae Adams, Nathan Craven, Dawn Holder, Courtney Leonard, Rebecca Manson, Casey Mcdonough, Allison Valchuis, Fonda Yoshimoto and Dear Human. Support systems, structural systems, systems of order, systems of control, social systems, breakdown of systems, systems that arise in chaos; all are relevant in our investigations. RISD alumni exhibition. Curated by Sarah Gross, Jess Riva Cooper, and Angela Carbone. .
Kirk Mangus – Things Love/Love Things, Kirk Mangus.
This is an exhibition of the compelling gestural and figurative work in clay and on paper by Kirk Mangus, one of RISD’s distinguished alumnus. Curated by Eva Kwong.
Hours during NCECA: Wed 10am-7pm; Thu & Fri 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 5-7pm. Mar 25-28; preview for collectors by appt Mar 24.
Benson Hall Gallery
Paul Scott & Andrew Raftery: Transferware, Paul Scott and Andrew Raftery.
An exhibition of new work rising from transferware’s rich history of image and meaning. Organized by Andrew Raftery.
Hours during NCECA: Wed 10am-7pm; Thu & Fri 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 5-9:30pm. Mar 25-28; preview for collectors by appt Mar 24.
Val M. Cushing.
Working with the Schein-Joseph Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred University, the Providence Art Club will present exciting and important works from the oeuvre of Val Cushing (1931-2013), a longtime Alfred Ceramics Professor and leader in the field. Selected work dates from 1959 to his final kiln in 2013. Curated by Providence Art Club in conjunction with Susan Kowalczyk, S-JIMCA, Alfred University.
Hours during NCECA: Sun 2-4pm; Mon & Tue 12- 4pm; Wed 10am-5:30pm; Thu & Fri 12-4pm; Sat 2-4pm. Mar 22-28. Closed for Reception shuttle.
Stop 4
Lauren Karle,
Kay’s Banana Cream Pie
2014
Earthenware
2015 NCECA Biennial
Juried by Linda Christianson, Minnesota studio potter, Jo-Ann Conklin, Director, David Winton Bell Gallery, and Anders Ruhwald, Head of Ceramics, Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Ivan Albreht, Jeremy Ayers, Vlad Basarab, Zimra Beiner, Jeremy Brooks, Ling Chun, Joshua Clark, Donna Cole, Ned Day, Jessika Edgar, Phillip Finder, Sean Michael Gallagher, Misty Gamble, Nancy Green, Craig Hartenberger, Karin Karinson Nilsson, Lauren Karle. Produced by NCECA, the NCECA Biennial is a premier international juried ceramics exhibition featuring 51 works by 49 artists from across the United States and 5 other countries.
Hours during NCECA: Sun 1-4pm; Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Wed hours extended to 5:30pm, Thu hours extended to 9:30pm; Sat 10am-4pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 6-9pm. Jan 24-Mar 29
Stop 5
Human Moments
Ann Agee, Sana Musasama, Annabeth Rosen, Sally Saul, Arlene Shechet and Andrew Molleur and Arnie Zimmerman. An exhibition that brings together ceramic sculptures that use the human form to reference a broad scope of genres including social injustice, landscape, decorative arts and the utilitarian object. Curated by Cade Tompkins Projects.
Hours during NCECA: Wed-Sat 10am-6pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 6-8pm. Mar 21-Apr 25.
HIfire RESolutions: 3D Printing in Clay
Kate Blacklock, Jonathan Bonner, Chris Gustin, Jane Masters, Andrew Raftery, Tayo Heuser. An exhibition of sculpture by 6 mid-career artists experimenting with the process of 3D ceramic printing as an extension of their studio practice. 3D printing provided by 3D Systems. Organized by Kate Blacklock.
Hours during NCECA: Sun 2-4pm;Tue 11am-4pm, Wed 10-5:30 Thu-Sat 11am-4pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Thu, Mar 26, 5-930pm. Mar 19-April 3.
Stop 6
Still Lifes: The Potential of the Picturesque
Kim Dickey, Chase Folsom, Del Harrow, Ashley Jonas, Joanna Powell, Antje Scharfe. Still Lifes: The Potential of the Picturesque, still life’s created by six different artists. These arrangements contemplate how the juxtapositions of objects can become a lively experiment concerned with connectivity. Organized by Chase Folsom and Ashley Jonas.
Hours during NCECA: Sun 1-4pm; Mon& Tue 8am- 4pm; Wed 8am-5:30pm; Thu 8am-9:30pm; Fri 8am-4pm; Sat 1-4pm. Reception: Thu Mar 26th 5-9:30pm. Mar 9-28.
Route B – South
Stop 1
BOTANICA CERAMICS: Large Scale Sculpture Under Glass
Tomoko Abe, Ben Anderson, Linda Casbon, Susan Crowell, Linda Huey, Leigh Taylor Mickelson, Kathy Ruttenberg, Erik Wilhelmsen, Arnie Zimmerman. An exhibition of large scale and site specific sculpture installed in the glass conservatories of the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center. Curated by Kate Blacklock.
Hours during NCECA: Sun-Sat 10am-5:30pm; Mon closed; Friday hours extended to 7:30pm. $5.00 admission; Free with conference badges. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 4:30-7:30pm. Mar 12-29.
Stop 2
Working Together · Everyone Eats: 25 Years of The Empty Bowls Project
Bowls, posters, t-shirts, posters and more all created by hundreds of artists, professional and amateur. The origins, extraordinary events and amazing stories of The Empty Bowls Project, whereby craftspeople have raised tens of millions of dollars for groups working to fight hunger. Organized by Lisa Blackburn and John Hartom.
Hours during NCECA: Tue-Sat 10am-5pm. (Wed 3/25 hours extended to 5:30). Mar 24-Jul 2.
Route C – West
Stop 1
Studio Z
Artistic Intersections
Paul Donnelly, Rain Harris, Chandra Debuse, Tommy Frank, Meredith Host, Alex Watson. Artistic Intersections will explore works that are used for art of dining. Participating artists will work collaboratively to create singular works that are evocative of both of their voices. Organized by Paul Donnelly.
Hours during NCECA: Wed 10am-6pm; Thu-Sat 12-6pm; Thu hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm. Mar 5-28.
Stop 2
Gibberish
Jeannie Hulen. Circumventing overburdened themes such as “environmentalism,” in favor of a non- linear, fantastical position. I call attention to relationships in the natural world, including intellectual, psychological, and numinous facets of symbiosis. Organized by Jeannie Hulen.
Hours during NCECA: Wed-Sat 9am-6pm; Fri hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6-9pm. Mar 25-May 2.
Theory and Practice
Matt Wilt. Mixed media assemblage sculpture. Curated by Robert P Stack.
Hours during NCECA: Sun, 12-5pm, Mon-Tue closed; Wed 10am-5:30pm; Thu & Fri 3-8pm; Sat 12-5pm; Fri hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6-9pm. Mar 24-Apr 19.
Stop 3
Harriet Brisson Award Winners
Sarah Hess, Sam Kashuk, Jason Pacheco, Lawrence Timmins, Kayla Vallone. Works by winners of the Harriet Brisson Award for Excellence in Ceramics showcase Rhode Island College’s talented alumni. The award honors Professor Emeritus Harriet Brisson who retired in 1997. Curated by Craig Bachman and Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo.
Hours during NCECA: Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm; Fri 10am-9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm. Mar 3-27.
Perspectives
Emily Duke, Brian Kakas, Yiu Keung Lee, Sarah Lindley, Blake Williams. Sculptural ceramics by five early to mid-career Michigan artists highlight current directions in the free use of clay, celebrating the medium’s potential for experimentation and recent expressive innovation. Curated by Diana Pancioli.
Hours during NCECA: Tue-Thu 12-8pm, Fri 12-9:30pm; Wed open at 10am. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm. Mar 3-28.
Stop 4
Maker’s Studio, Group Show.
Maker’s Studio turns the gallery into the studio laboratory of a group of artists whose experimental ceramics projects stretch the boundaries of clay as both contemporary craft and technological resource. Curated by Jaimianne Amicucci.
Hours during NCECA: Tue 6-8pm; Wed 10:30 -8pm; Thu-Sat 12-6pm; Fri hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm. Mar 11-28.
Route D
Stop 1
Binary
Allan Rosenbaum. Binary is an exhibition negotiating the territory between drawing and sculpture, in which wall-mounted epoxy clay sculptures with clearly demarcated modalities of execution are used to generate ephemeral “shadow drawings.” Organized by Allan Rosenbaum.
Hours during NCECA: Wed-Sat 10am-6pm; Fri hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm. Mar 25-28.
Stop 2
Line And Form
David Allyn, Nidal Fakhouri, Shannon Wallack , Nicole Aquillano, Chris Tonsgard , Dustin Yager. A survey of utilitarian ware by ceramic artists living and working in the providence area, with a focus on hard lines and graphic design. Curated by Candita Clayton.
Hours during NCECA: Sun-Sat 10am-7pm; Fri hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6-9pm. Mar 22-29.
Stop 3
Untamed Objects
Kerry Adams, Heidi Born, Lauren Fisher, Stef Grant, Jungil Hong, Anna Shapiro, Meredith Stern, Kik Williams, Joan Wyand, Meredith Younger. Untamed Objects is a group show of contemporary female ceramicists whose work explores challenging social and environmental issues. The works are a variety of installations, sculptures, and functional items. Organized by Joan Wyand.
Hours during NCECA: Wed 10am-5:30pm, Thu 5-7pm; Fri 5-9:30pm; Sat 7pm-1am. Reception: Sat, Mar 28, 7pm-1am; dance party at 10pm with local DJs. Mar 25-Apr 24. No reception Friday night but open for shuttles.
Stop 4
Cognitive Dissonance
Ivan Albreht, Nel Bannier, Daniel Bare, Alfredo Eandrade, Khurtova / Bourlanges, Shida Kuo, Anthony Merino, Melissa Stern, Madeline Stillwell. In Cognitive Dissonance, the artists affirm that imperfection is not only essential but in some ways glorious. As such, the lively experiment started in Rhode Island, continues today and perpetually. Organized by Nel Bannier and Anthony Merino. Mar 25-28.
This Became That: The Romantic Robots Collaborate
Frederick Bartolovic, Casey McDonough , Robin Strangfeld, Blake Jamison Williams, Lauren Herzak-Bauman and Kimberly Ellen Greene. During a Red Lodge residency, The Romantic Robots mapped a two-year collaborative experiment. On exhibition are the artifacts of collaboration, thirty lines of seven objects each, 210 objects total. Organized by Kimberly Ellen Greene. Mar 25-28. CE Dot. Dot. Dot., Andrew Gilliatt, Chris Pickett, Emily Free Wilson, Jana Evans, Martha Grover, Meredith Host, Paul Donnelly & Rain Harris, Sunshine Cobb. Nine artists using dots in their work – examining the ways a simple dot can be incorporated in pottery, taking this very simple element and using it to express many ideas. Organized by Martha Grover. Mar 25-28.
Apprenticelines: Divergence/Continuity/Community
Silvie Granatelli, Jerilyn Virden, Ian Anderson, Mark Hewitt, Daniel Johnston, Simon Levin, Lucie Brisson, Kenyon Hansen, Mark Shapiro, Michael McCarthy. A survey of work exploring individual voice, studio style, and connection among professional studio artists and apprentices with features of several prominent lines of studios and apprentices. Organized by Mark Shapiro. Mar 25-28.
Bio Rad
Matt Mitros. A unique visual workout targeting one’s expectations on the subjects of Architecture and Nature as seen through the lens of popular culture. Organized by Matt Mitros. Mar 25-28.
To Be Determined
Naomi Cleary, Rain Harris, Rebecca Harvey, Meredith Host, Janet Macpherson, Kyla Toomey. To Be Determined includes along with finished pieces, some of the tools and tests developed by these process-oriented artists as both a complement and an explanation to process-driven work. Organized by Rebecca Harvey. Mar 25-28.
Hours during NCECA: Wed 9am-5:30pm; Thu 9am-5:30pm; Fri 9am-9:30pm; Sat 9am-5pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm.
Stop 5
Rhode Island K-12 Ceramics Exhibition
K-12 Students. Collection of ceramic work representing public, private and after school programs throughout Rhode Island. Organized by Tricia Barry, Kerri Sloat and Norv Garnett, owner Mad Dog Artist Studios.
Hours during NCECA: Mon & Tue 6-8pm; Wed 10am-8pm, Thu-Fri 11am-8pm; Sat 10am- 12pm; Fri hours extended to 9:30pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-9:30pm. Mar 23-28.
Stay tuned to the blog for more information! And as always, feel free to post any questions on your mind here, and I’ll answer them!
by Joshua Green, Executive Director | Feb 3, 2015 | 2015 Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Featured
A Logic of Chance
The 2015 NCECA Biennial had its opening reception at the David Winton Bell Gallery of Brown University on a snowy Friday, January 30 evening. This year’s effort was juried by Bell Gallery Director, Jo-ann Conklin, studio potter Linda Christianson and Anders Ruhwald, head of ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art. NCECA’s recurring juried endeavor (first called the National and since 2009, the Biennial) represents an important opportunity for ceramic artists to bring their work to the attention of a knowledgeable audience. When three individuals with such diverse perspectives convene to select an exhibition, interesting and unpredictable things decisions are likely to result. Both the creators selected and those passed over are following paths of passion, commitment and perseverance. For every work included in the exhibition, there were probably six more worthy of gaining exposure to a wider audience. NCECA is grateful for the risk and effort so many willingly made.
2015 NCECA Biennial installation view at Bell Gallery
NCECA took inspiration from Rhode Island’s historic British charter in framing the theme of its 2015 conference, Lively Experiments. Any exhibition juried by a team from more than 1000 images to winnow down to fifty works owes as much to logic as it does to chance. Coincidentally, logic and chance are words shared by two works of British culture separated by more than one hundred years. The earlier Logic of Chance (1866) is a treatise on mathematics and rhetoric by logician and clergyman John Venn whose charts of intersecting circles (Venn diagrams) graphically represent sweet spots where clusters of commonality are expressed from within an array of diverse and disparate possibilities. More recently, the hiphop duo Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip appropriated the Venn’s title for a 2010 release of rhymes and electronic beats. Their song, Get Better, speaks directly to working-class teens’ longing for meaningful connection at amidst decay and hopelessness, “They confuse love at first sight with lust at first light.” Logic and chance are metacognitive certainties in a world organized through uncertainty.
Eva Kwong, KERMES
While Lively Experiments was not meant to offer a direct framework for this Biennial, it did inspire NCECA to consider the vision of experiences to be realized in Rhode Island. Inquiry into the life and history of objects and architecture are focal points of works by Ivan Albreht, Jeremy Brooks, Joshua Clark, Jessica Edward, Karin Karinson and others in the exhibition. They celebrate ceramics, in part for its outsider status in art discourse. These artists’ works suggest movement from the margins into the mainstream of cultural production while remaining tethered to decorative arts traditions.
Ivan Albreht, Re-deconstructed platter
In counterpoint to such conceptually framed efforts, wood fired works by Nancy Green, and Craig Hartenberger are immersed in materiality, process and time. Vlad Bassarab’s Archaeology of Memory_Large Book juxtaposes a physical object (a book made of slip covered pages) with a video documenting the erosion of its doppelganger. While the former works emphasize clay’s transformation through heat to achieve rocklike durability, the latter uses water to highlight its transmutation and fragility. These points along the continuum of clay’s variable condition are essential understandings of ceramic experience.
Vlad Basarab, Archaeology of Memory_Large Book
Works by Zimra Beiner, Ned Day, Misty Gamble, Jeffrey Mongrain, Aaron Nelson and Yun Wook Mun initiate from the inter-relation of form, data and the permutation of multiples. Alluding to both the current information age and familiar rhythms of ceramic production, through systems of display and mutability, these artists explore the nature of innovation as a process of organic evolution.
Yun Wook Mun, POOF 2.0
The studio craft legacy also has its share of space in the 2015 NCECA Biennial. Works by Jeremy Ayres, Philip Finder, Lauren Karle, Clay Leonard and Lorna Meaden embody values of function, design and tacit knowledge. Their spirit adheres to the notion that ceramic objects through their beauty and usefulness, transform daily live and uplift the human spirit. A hallmark of the Arts and Crafts movement that persists even as box stores multiply and 3-D printing becomes accessible to us all, these values may be moving back to the vanguard if not in the art-world, then in the broader society as words like artisanal, craft and authenticity are applied to everything from bread to beer and fashion.
Lorna Meaden, Shot Glasses
A full color catalog of the 2015 NCECA Biennial is now available for pre-order at www.nceca.net. The exhibition remains on view through March 30, 2015. A public reception will take place on Thursday evening March 26, 2015. Artists included in the exhibition are… Ivan Albreht, Jeremy Ayers, Vlad Basarab, Zimra Beiner, Jeremy Brooks, Ling Chun, Joshua Clark, Donna Cole, Ned Day, Jessika Edgar, Phillip Finder, Sean Michael Gallagher, Misty Gamble, Nancy Green, Craig Hartenberger, Karin Karinson Nilsson, Lauren Karle, Jin Kim, Young Mi Kim, Eva Kwong, Thomas Lane, Clay Leonard, Janet Macpherson, Andrea Marquis, Amiko Matsuo, Lorna Meaden, Jeffrey Mongrain, YunWook Mun, Aaron Nelson, Marissa Neuman, Ginnifer O’Keefe, Brooks Oliver, Virginia Pates, Peter Pincus, Paolo Porelli, Matt Repsher, Liza Riddle, Kate Roberts, John Rohlfing, Raymond Rorke, Bonnie Seeman, Gertrude Graham Smith, Zac Spates, Katherine Taylor, Ian Thomas, Matthew Towers, John Utgaard, and Christy Wittmer.
by Cindy Bracker, Communications Director | Jan 31, 2015 | 2015 Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Featured, Inside NCECA, Member Opportunities
If you missed last week’s issue of “Inside NCECA”, you can read more about how Bus Tours work and learn all about the New Bedford Bus Tour here. This week, I have TWO tours to share with you, Boston and Newport! During our board meetings in Providence, I had the opportunity to go to both of these beautiful cities and see several of the spots on the tours. Salve Regina in Newport is a beautiful campus and the Newport Art Museum is charming. Harvard Ceramics in Boston is amazing with a bright and open gallery space and a fabulous facility.
Newport Tour
Wednesday, March 25, 9:00am-5:00pm or Friday, March 27, 5:00pm-9:30pm for Receptions (separate ticket purchase required)
Stop 1 (Not on Friday night reception tour)
Imago Gallery
Collaborators – A Lively Experiment, Ashwini Bhat, Bryan Czibesz, Dan Molyneux, Elizabeth Kendall, Lori Mader, Julie Crosby, Rose Esson-Dawson, Seth Rainville, Liz Lurie, Tom O’Malley, Shawn Spangler and Adam Paulek. The challenge of creating work while separated by distance, creating limitations for the collaborators was explored by 12 artists. Potters, sculptors and installation artists developed ways of communicating ideas over distance. Organized by Rose Esson-Dawson. Hours during NCECA: Sun-Tue 12-4pm; Wed 9am-5pm; Thu 9am-8pm; Fri 9am- 9pm; Sat 9am-8pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6-9pm. Feb 19-Mar 28.
Stop 2 (Not on Friday night reception tour)
30 Cutler Street Gallery
Learning Curves, Ellen Blomgren, Rose Esson-Dawson, Pat Warwick, Candis Dixon, Adam Ferbert, Judi Israel, senior students. An inspiring collaboration between six young artists in their senior year of high school and six experienced and talented, ceramic artists at 30 Cutler Street Studios. Organized by Ellen Blomgren. Hours during NCECA: Sun-Fri 10am-4pm; Sat 10am-8pm. Reception: Sat, Mar 28, 6-8pm. Feb 6-Mar 28.
Stop 3 (Not on Friday night reception tour)
Janis Mars-Wunderlich
Audubon Society of Rhode Island Education Center
Birds, Bart Fetz, Alex Kraft, Peter Callas, Jill Burns, Nel Bannier, Eva Kwong, Krysia Stronski, Doug Grey, Dandee Pattee, Janis Mars Wunderlich, and others. The Audobon Society of Rhode Island Education Center will host an exhibition of ceramics, drawings, paintings, water colors and prints done by clay artists from around the region and country. Organized by Anthony Merino. Hours during NCECA: Wed-Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 12-5pm. Reception: Wed, Mar 25, 3pm. Mar 25-28.
Stop 4 (Not on Friday night reception tour)
The Bristol Art Museum at Linden Place
Sculptural Explorations: Resource Consumption, Creation, and Trade, Allison Newsome and Nancy Selvage. The exhibit will include ceramic installations by two regional artists, Allison Newsome and Nancy Selvage. The installations will interpret and explore cultural production, consumption and trade of our region. Curated by Mary Dondero. Hours during NCECA: Sun-Tue 1-4pm; Wed 10:30am-4pm; Thu-Sat 1-4pm; open Fri until 9pm Free Admission with NCECA Conference Badge however, $2 contribution is appreciated. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6-9pm. Mar 6-Apr 19.
Stop 5 (Not on Friday night reception tour)
DeBlois Gallery
Figure/Vessel/Figure, Lee Segal and Valorie Sheehan. A potter and a sculptor collaborate to pursue the figure using a range of clay bodies, firing temps, atmospheres and forms. Narrative to abstract. Wheel thrown, hand built. Organized by Valorie Sheehan. Hours during NCECA: Closed Mon & Tue; Wed 11:30am-5pm; Thu-Sun 1-5pm. Mar 22-28.
Stop 6
Newport Art Museum
Ashwini Bhat: “Earth Took of Earth”, Ashwini Bhat. Ashwini Bhat’s solo exhibition is a body of wood-fired sculptural ceramics, employing a primary language of transformation, taking conceptual gesture and rendering it material. Curated by Nancy Whipple Grinnell. Hours during NCECA: Sun 12-4pm; Mon closed; Tue-Sat 10am-4pm ; Extended hours Fri until 8pm. Jan 17-May 10.
Stop 7
Gerry Williams in his home studio (Photo by Gary Samson)
Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery at Salve Regina University
Gerry Williams – Effigies in Clay, a Memorial Tribute, Gerry Williams. Salve Regina University honors the creative legacy of New Hampshire potter Gerry Williams. This exhibition features Williams’ ceramic work from his family’s collection and other private collections. Curated by Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery at Salve Regina University. Hours during NCECA: Tue & Thu 11am-6pm; Wed 11am-5pm; Fri 11am-8pm; Sat 12-4pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 5-8pm. Mar 24-Apr 19.
Ochre Court/Salve Regina University
Palace Pottery, James Baker, Susan Harris, Michelle Erickson, Jay Lacouture. Work by four artists in a historically significant “Guilded Age” building that responds to the decorative aspects of pottery form. Organized by Jay Lacouture. Hours during NCECA: Wed & Thu 10am-5pm; Fri 10am-9pm; Sat 12-5pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6-8pm. Mar 25-Apr 3.
Stop 8
Rough Point (a Newport Restoration Foundation property)
Fired and Inspired: Ceramics at Rough Point, Mark Cooper, Kathy King, Judit Kollo, Warren Mather, Marco Vargas, Zhu Yang. New work by artists inspired by Rough Point and its history will be nestled among the house’s own collection, offering a fusion experience of art and history at this Newport mansion. Curated by Allison Newsome. Hours during NCECA: Wed open 2-3pm for Newport tour only; Thu-Sat 10am-2pm; additional hours Fri 5-8pm. Mar 25-Nov 8.
Stop 9 (Not on Friday night reception tour)
Jamestown Arts Center Hours during NCECA: Sun 10am-2pm; Mon-Thu 9:30am-5pm; Fri 9:30am-8pm; Sat 10am-2pm. Reception: Fri, Mar 27, 6- 8pm. Mar 22-28.
Both Artist and Mother, Jen Allen, Linda Christianson, Erin Furimsky, Molly Hatch, Jeannie Hulen, Eva Kwong, Kari Radasch, Ellen Shankin, Amy Smith, Michaelene Walsh, and others.. Kate Fisher has been documenting a selection of ceramic artists who are also mothers. This exhibition features the women of her research collaborations and the creative work they make. Curated by Kate Fisher.
Conanicut Clay, Jillian Barber, Jennifer Clancy, Craig Crawford, Connie Payne Enright, Peter Flood, Lisa Harris, Martin Keen, Susan Matthews, Robin Monihan, Natalie Squillante. A survey of recent ceramic work made by artists who live or work on Conanicut island. Organized by Jillian Barber and Susie Matthews.
The cost for this Bus Tour is $59 for the full tour on Wednesday, or $55 for the Friday night receptions version. Click here to purchase tickets online
NOTE There is a separate Newport SIGHTSEEING TOUR available from Lew White on Tuesday for soaking in Newport’s charm, atmosphere, dining and shopping. Details can be found on link above.
Boston Tour
Saturday, March 28, 12:45pm- 6:30pm
Stop 1
Gallery NAGA
Meredyth Knows Ceramics, Wesley Anderegg, Robert Brady, Angela Cunningham, Viola Frey, Koichiro Isezaki, Tim Rowan, Glen Takai, Peter Vandenberge, Jamie Walker, Sunkoo Yuh. Meredyth Hyatt Moses revisits her ceramic heroes in an exhibition at Gallery NAGA representing national icons in the field of clay alongside a few shining new faces. Curated by Meredyth Hyatt Moses and Gallery NAGA. Hours during NCECA: Tue-Sat 10am-5pm. Mar 6-28.
The Society of Arts and Crafts
Collisions & Collaborations, Brian R. Jones, Kathy King, Kevin Snipes. For a year Jones, King and Snipes exchanged sketches, images and unfinished objects. The collaborative process culminated with a lively installation of new works. Curated by Fabio J. Fernández. Hours during NCECA: Mon by appt; Tue-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-8pm. Reception: Sat, Mar 28, 5-8pm. Jan 30-Apr 11.
Pucker Gallery
At the Crossroads: Pottery by Mark Hewitt, Mark Hewitt (main exhibition); additional works by Brother Thomas, Shoji Hamada, Randy Johnston, Ken Matsuzaki, Hideaki Miyamura, Ben Owen III, and others. Born in Stoke-on- Trent, England, Mark Hewitt apprenticed with Michael Cardew and now lives and works in Pittsboro, NC. Hewitt’s distinctive work is simultaneously rooted in tradition and contemporary in vision. Curated by Pucker Gallery. Hours during NCECA: Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm; Sun 10:30-5pm. Reception: Sat, Mar 28, 5-8pm. Mar 22-28.
Stop 2
Gallery 224 at Ceramics Program
Life, or Something Like It, Christopher Adams. Embracing “Lively Experiments” at the University responsible for the Blascka glass flowers, Adams presents an expansive homage to exploration of organic form in a full-gallery installation of over 1000 pieces. Organized by Co-Directors Kathy King and Shawn Panepinto. Hours during NCECA: Tue-Fri 10am-6pm; Sat 3:30-8pm. Reception: Sat, Mar 28, 5-8pm. Mar 24-28.
Stop 3
Mobilia Gallery
Travels Through Time and Light, Pippin Drysdale, Richard Shaw, Dorothy Fiebleman, Karen Thuesen Massaro. Richard Shaw’s documentation of Boston through trompe l’oeil sculptures, Pippin Drysdale’s porcelain vessels exploring Australia’s ever-changing topography and Dorothy Fiebleman’s vessel series which reinvents the traditional Japanese nerikomi-in technique. Curated by Libby Cooper. Hours during NCECA: Tue-Fri 11am-6pm; Sat 10am-5pm. Reception: Sat, Mar 28, 10-7pm. Mar 3-Apr 4
The cost for this Bus Tour is $59. Click here to purchase tickets online
Stay tuned to the blog for details on Continuous Shuttles and Exhibitions within walking distance of the Convention Center!
