 |
|---|
Current Exhibitions
Six McKnight Artists
Gallery M and A
June 18 – August 22
New work by 2009 recipients of McKnight Fellowships for Ceramic Artists awarded by Northern Clay Center—Ursula Hargens (Minneapolis) and Maren Kloppmann (Minneapolis) will be on exhibition in Gallery A. Gallery M will feature the work of four McKnight Resident Artists: 2008 residency recipients Ilena Finocchi (California), Elizabeth Smith (Arkansas), Yoko Sekino-Bové (Pennsylvania), and 2009 residency recipient Cary Esser (Missouri).
There will be a free opening reception for the artists on Friday, June 18, 6 – 8 pm.
Ursula Hargens received her M.F.A. from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and completed post-baccalaureate studies in ceramics at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Canada, where she also spent this past summer teaching. Hargens' highly decorated earthenware pots have been featured in such exhibitions as 20 Below - 32 Above, Moorhead State University Gallery, Moorhead, Minnesota; Master Artists Exhibition, Armory Art Center, Palm Beach, Florida; 8 Fluid Ounces III, Shaw Center for the Arts, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Art of the Pot Exhibition, Authenticity Gallery, Austin, Texas; and Bay Area Potters' Invitational, Trax Gallery, Berkeley, California.
In addition to planning the construction of a studio adjacent to her home, Hargens also began work on a series of wall tiles. The modular tile molds—some square, others with scalloped edges— are combined to form larger works of varied sizes and shapes. This new focus has provided an opportunity for innovation since the expanded surface requires new decorating solutions.
Maren Kloppmann received her M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, her B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri, and her Journeyman Diploma from Keramik Handwerkskammer in Germany. In addition to being featured in NCC's sales gallery, Kloppmann's work has earned her two prior McKnight Fellowships from Northern Clay Center, as well as two Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants and a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant from NCC. Recent exhibitions have included In the Niche, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Abstraction, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Minimal Contrast, Trax Gallery, Berkeley, California; and Art & Objects, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis.
Kloppmann's new series uses formations of pillow shapes and wall panels in porcelain to create wall installations that "reference forms which are archetypal and architectural in quality." Defining architectural and sculptural principles, her objective is "to make conceptual space tangible through a confluence of imperative visual elements." This new work is modular in nature, with each element constructed by hand, revealing subtle imperfections that Kloppmann says, "energize a visual language of austerity."
Ilena Finocchi currently resides and maintains a studio in Stockton, California. She received her B.F.A. from Youngstown State University in Ohio and her M.F.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Her ceramic wares have been included in such publications as Surface Design for Ceramics (Lark Books), Ceramics Monthly, 500 Animals in Clay (Lark Books), and China Ceramic Artists 2005. Finocchi has presented lectures at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania; the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana; and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her gallery representation includes Santa Fe Clay in New Mexico, Glass Growers in Pennsylvania, and the Ferrin Gallery in Massachusetts.
Finocchi describes her work with clay as “the connection to my childhood and means of communicating in a way I cannot do with words.” Through her use of metaphorical symbols, she explores stories from her childhood and the ways in which adulthood now interacts with those memories. Finocchi often employs bird imagery to represent herself in her narratives. Additionally, she references nature, life, and death, as well as specific memories of her father and his personal collections. Typically, Finocchi uses earthenware clay, often smoke-fired, combined with other elements such as wood, rope, and lighting. You can see more of Ilena's exhibition work online at http://www.ilenaf.com/website/Artwork/Pages/McKnight_Resideny_Show.html#0.
Elizabeth Smith is currently an assistant professor of fine art at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, where she has taught since 2001. She received her M.F.A. in ceramics from the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and her B.S. in studio art and art history from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Her pots can be found at the Lillstreet Clay Studio in Chicago, Illinois and at the Lux Center for the Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska. Recent exhibitions include Cups at Red Star Studios in Kansas City, Missouri; a solo exhibition at Mississippi Valley State University in Idebena; Consider the Cup at the Artisan Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts; Post Millennium Exponent at the University of Kansas in Lawrence; and Cup: The Intimate Object IV at the Charlie Cummings Clay Studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Smith cites her New England upbringing and memories of mandatory family dining as driving forces behind her pottery aesthetic and dedication to function. Additionally, she is interested in the Victorian era, specifically the “decorative excesses” of 18th and 19th century European porcelain. While in residence at NCC, Smith explored decoration as a way to map experience, breaking her exploration up into seasons, “the aesthetics of spring, summer, fall and winter.” Her interest stems from the strong connection between “the sensory impact of the seasons on one's body and the sensory impact of a well-made pot...” Smith chose to communicate this idea through the creation of complex wall forms constructed from multiple slip-cast elements, a great departure from the functional works she’s been known for.
Yoko Sekino-Bové began her artistic studies as a graphic designer, receiving her B.F.A. from Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Japan. Additionally, she received an A.A. degree in advertising design from Glendale Community College in California and an M.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She currently teaches ceramics and Japanese brush painting classes at Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and at the Pittsburgh Japanese School in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. Sekino-Bové has lectured and demonstrated extensively on surface decoration techniques along the east coast. Her functional wares have been featured in such publications as Surface Designs for Ceramics, 500 Plates and Chargers,500 Cups,(all Lark Books) and Clay Times. Additionally, her work has been exhibited in such shows as Echoes and Whispers, at The Clay Place, Carnegie, Pennsylvania; Flora and Fauna, Isadora Gallery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Starbrick Clay National Cup Show, Starbrick Clay, Nelsonville, Ohio; Feats of Clay XXII, Lincoln Art Center, Lincoln, California; Winterfest 2008, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland; and Mondrian Goes Flowers, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sekino-Bové's artistic ambition “is to create something meaningful and delightful, to remind people that there are still many amazing moments in our lives and to celebrate those moments.” Her porcelain functional work employs the imagery of plants and animals to convey her emotions and curiosities. She likens this process to creating a wildflower bouquet, “a mixture of random choices and selective chaos, inspirations and the anticipation for something unexpected.” During her residency, Sekino-Bové developed an array of cone six glazes and explored their possibilities in electric oxidation firings. Ultimately, she hopes to publish her research and share her new palette of glazes in a ceramic periodical.
Cary Esser received her M.F.A. from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and her B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri, where she has been Professor and Chair of Ceramics since 1996. Prior to that she was an Artist-in-Residence at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where she taught drawing, sculpture, and architectural ceramics. Esser has presented workshops and lectures across the country and her ceramic work has been featured in such publications as Clay Times, Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, and Surface Decoration (Lark books). She was also recently featured in PBS’ Craft in America Episode V: Process, along with her colleagues George Timock and Victor Babu, as well as many recent students from the KCAI ceramics department. While in residence, Esser employed her newly developed mold system to create tile and relief forms in repeated units, to be decorated with monoprint images of winter tree limbs and architectural floor plans, specifically depicting 10th century Byzantine churches.