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2008 Exhibitions
Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration
Gallery M
March 7 – April 27, 2008
Guest co-curators: Maren Kloppmann and Andrew Martin
In the 1920’s, the Surrealists invented a technique for adding to and completing compositions—in words, drawings, and collages—in which each successive collaborator built on the preceding work without fully knowing what had come before. The process, based on an old game, celebrated unpredictable, chancy, and occasionally startling results. It expanded the idea of collaboration from its usual consciously cooperative mode to an unconscious, accidental level.For eight months, six artists who work in porcelain shipped bisque ware to one another, forms that were distinctive and representative of their individual work. Their collaborators then glazed and fired the bisqued work in their particular gaze palettes. While the potters in this exhibition were able to see the forms which they were finishing, the instruction to complete the pots in their own styles has resulted in a combination of forms and finishes that is occasionally as startling as a surrealist collage.
The resulting pots prompted the viewer to think more carefully about the relationship between form and finish, and about the idea of collaboration—and finally about the aesthetic “ownership” of a piece: Is it a Sam Chung teapot because of its distinctive form or has it become an Andrew Martin teapot because of the equally distinctive glazing?
Maren Kloppmann, co-curator and participant, described the inception and evolution of this exhibition:
“The concept to create an exhibition around the premise of potters glazing each other’s bisque ware was first introduced to me by Andrew Martin during the 2006 NCECA conference in Portland. While a show based on this idea can be done in any clay and firing range, compatibility is a significant factor and as Andrew and I both work in porcelain, we decided to start there.
“Our correspondence about a list of potential artists was based on pairing potters whose work is recognizable through distinctive form as well as surface. The list we ultimately decided upon was also heavily dependent on artists’ availability and their willingness to commit to this rather involved project. Being in the dual role of curator and participant my objective was to not necessarily pick artists whose work I could artistically relate to, but to devise pairings of work that would be challenging to all potters involved.
“The process of receiving and handling other artists’ unfinished work, to become aware of all the different sensibilities of form and to do justice to someone else’s esthetic was personally the most exciting aspect. There was also an awareness and question of ‘what will these other artists do with my pots? How will they receive them? What will their solutions be?’ I see this show as an opportunity to interpret, to transform and ultimately to complete another artist’s original idea. Each potter in this group has created extensions of an original design, a new realization for completion.”
Participants in addition to Kloppmann and Martin, included Margaret Bohls (Minneapolis), Andy Brayman (Kansas City, Missouri), Sam Chung (Tempe, Arizona), Andrew Martin (Los Angeles) and Deb Schwartzkopf (Athens, Ohio).
The Clay Center is publishing a monograph catalogue of the exhibition, with an essay by Kelly Connole, Assistant Professor of Art at Carleton College.
This exhibition and catalogue were made possible with the support of several generous donors to Northern Clay Center’s exhibition program. These include Continental Clay Company, Frances and George Reid, and the Windgate Foundation.
In addition, this activity was made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Pictured above:
Sam Chung, teapot, Andrew Martin, glaze and firing, 2007, porcelain, 7" x 8" x 4". Photo by Peter Lee.
Andrew Martin, teapot, Maren Kloppmann, glaze and firing, 2007, porcelain, 10" x 12" x 4.5". Photo by Peter Lee.
Bountiful Visions: Juliane Shibata and Eva Kwong
Gallery A
March 7 – April 27, 2008
Juliane Shibata (Northfield, Minnesota) and Eva Kwong (Kent, Ohio) were on location in early March, to transform Gallery A with their exhibition Bountiful Visions. Both women create sculptural installations that use multiples: through the repetition of smaller forms arranged en masse, they created an expansive and dynamic alternative reality experience for the viewers. As Shibata explained, “Upon entering the gallery, viewers will find themselves immersed in an environment filled with complexity, intricacy, and rhythm.”Shibata described the thematic connections in Bountiful Visions as follows: “Abstraction plays a large role in both my work and Kwong’s…. The individual ceramic ‘units’ that repeat are abstracted so that a form cannot be read as one specific ‘thing.’ A ceramic part may resemble something familiar or comforting, but may seem foreign because the object can also be identified as something else. In my piece Black Sheep, the folded clay forms can resemble diapers or dumplings….” Kwong’s wall installation Lament was composed of celadon-glazed forms that could symbolize rain or tears. The ambiguity of these abstracted forms leaves viewers free to interpret the work as they choose.
Juliane Shibata graduated from Carleton College in 2001 with a B.A. in studio art. In 2006, she received her M.F.A. in ceramics from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. While a graduate student, she was awarded the Aaron Macy Memorial Scholarship. Shibata spent the summer of 2006 as the Ceramics Technician at Ox-Bow, an art school in Michigan affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After a yearlong residency at Appalachian Center for Craft in 2007, she moved to Northfield, Minnesota where she currently serves as an Assistant Visiting Professor in Ceramics at Carleton College, as a sabbatical replacement.
Eva Kwong was born in Hong Kong and received her B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, and her M.F.A. from Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. She has lectured and exhibited extensively throughout the country. Her work has received awards from the Ohio Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Arts Midwest. Her sculptures are found in private and public collections such as the Archie Bray Foundation, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Finnish Craft Museum, Racine Art Museum, and Fuping International Ceramics Museum.
Pictured above: Juliane Shibata, Black Sheep, 2007, porcelain, glaze and string, 9' x 25" x 2" (height variable). Photo by John Lucas. Eva Kwong, Lament (detail), 2005, clay and glaze, dimensions variable. Photo by Kevin Olds.
2008 Jerome Artists Exhibition
January 11 – February 24
Gallery M
The 2008 Jerome Artists will feature the work of Donna Flanery and Peter Jadoonath, both of whom were awarded 2007 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grants.
An opening reception for the artists will be held on January 11, from 6 to 8 pm.
Donna Flanery earned an A.A. degree in art from the College of Southern Idaho in 2003 and then went on to earn a B.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Montana, Missoula, with high honors in 2005. Her work will also be exhibited in the Fogelberg Exhibition (her biography may be found on page 4.)
Flanery says the images in her body of work come from “the stuff my parents had around when I was a kid. [The] characters that were painted on my childhood furniture and sewn onto comforters stuck with me. I make images that remind me of those characters. … I enjoy it when my pots appeal to children. I want to share an appreciation of cartoons and mark-making with them. This silly approach to the very serious business of my own artwork is of great value to me ideologically. I hope to infect others with a similar playful irreverence.”
Flanery used the Jerome Grant to develop and test new materials, from clay bodies to surface treatments, with a goal of adapting the painting style that she developed working with acrylic paints into her ceramic work. Beyond the material concerns, the Jerome Grant provided the financial stability that allowed Flanery to create work concerned with the following questions: “What style of pots will best suit my style of painting?” “How much surface activity can I have without distracting from the form and function of the object?” and “What scale do these two ideas require?” Flanery's exhibition showcases her yearlong exploration of new materials and inquiry into questions of surface and form.
Peter Jadoonath attended Bemidji State University where he earned a B.F.A. in studio ceramics and painting in 1998. His studies at Bemidji provided the “foundation of creativity” for Jadoonath that continues to have an influence on his work process and his development of new ideas. In 2000, Jadoonath co-founded Toppot Clay Studio in historic Lowertown, St. Paul. Having established “roots in Lowertown,” Jadoonath currently makes pots, experiments, and learns from his participation in the regional arts community. He exhibits work at local and national festivals as well as local galleries. Jadoonath teaches at Northern Clay Center and at Fired Up, where he is a studio technician (source: http://peterjadoonath.com).
Peter Jadoonath creates stoneware pottery that focuses on “texture, gesture, and building a sculptural presence.” The work he creates is narrative, animated, and open to interpretation by the viewer. “I find inspiration from scientific mystery, unexplained history, small complex ideas, and large simple ideas,” says Jadoonath. “Through my craft it is important for me to honor timelessness, tradition, ancestors, and predecessors. I strive for this by following my intuition, seeking self-realization, working hard, and gathering the patience to take risks.”
Jadoonath forms his pots using the basic clay building acts of “squeezing, paddling, throwing, pinching, coiling, folding, smashing, polishing, and carving.” The surface treatment is then built up with layers of colored slips and stains as well as layers of “pitted glazes and thin washes of glaze,” creating a skin that transforms and enhances the textured surfaces of his work.
Pictured above: Peter Jadoonath, Sea Creature Urn, 2007, stoneware, 13" x 12" x 12"; Donna Flanery, salt and pepper shakers, 2007, earthenware, 7.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (elephant), 3" x 3" x 1.5" (teapot). Photo by Peter Lee..
Jerome Artists in Retrospect: Reflections on 17 years of ceramic artists project grants
January 11 – February 24
Gallery M
Northern Clay Center has awarded project grants to emerging Minnesota ceramic artists since 1991, with the support of the Jerome Foundation of St. Paul. This year NCC has invited past Jerome recipients to reflect on the impact of the Jerome grant on their personal creative work as well as on their professional lives as artists. 51 ceramic artists have received Jerome pro-ject grants since the Foundation first started funding the program through NCC. Visitors to this retrospective exhibition will have an opportunity to read reflective statements by past Jerome recipients and view examples of their current work. This exhibition pays tribute to the Jerome Foundation's focus and demonstrates the transformative impact the Jerome grants have had on the immediate recipients, as well as on the state of the arts in Minnesota and beyond. Participants in the retrospective will include such artists as Judy Altobell (1991), Monica Rudquist (1995), Kelly Connole (1998), Frank Brown (2000), Lisa Buck (2003), and many more.
Fogelberg and Red Wing Artists Exhibition
January 11 – February 24
Gallery A
Northern Clay Center is pleased to present an exhibition featuring the work of 2006 Fogelberg Fellowship recipients Donna Flanery and Kathy Mommsen, and 2006 Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award recipient Mike Helke.
An opening reception for the artists will be held on January 11, from 6 to 8 pm.
The Fogelberg Fellowship Program provides emerging ceramic artists an opportunity to be in residence for six months to one year at Northern Clay Center. This residency program provides support that allows artists to develop their own work while working in a community environment that encourages an exchange of ideas and knowledge with other ceramic artists.
Donna Flanery earned an A.A. degree in art from the College of Southern Idaho in 2003 and then went on to earn a B.F.A. in ceramics with high honors in 2005 from the University of Montana, Missoula. She was awarded a 2007 Jerome Ceramic Artists Project Grant and is currently an artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Those who visit NCC's exhibition galleries in January and February will discover her work featured in the Fogelberg exhibition as well as the Jerome exhibition. Please read more about Donna Flanery's recent work in the Jerome exhibition article on page 3.
Kathy Mommsen received her M.A. in ceramics from the University of Minnesota – Duluth. She has taught ceramics at Hopkins High School for the last 9 years. Currently, Mommsen is on sabbatical, allowing her to study maiolica in Italy and to work intensely on her ceramics at Northern Clay Center.
The vessel and the human figure in motion are the two primary themes in Mommsen's artwork, which includes the practice of drawing with charcoal on paper as well as ceramics. An avid bicyclist and skier, Mommsen recognizes that “motion is important in my artwork and in my daily life.” Over time, the human figure became more important to her and Mommsen began to work directly in clay from a nude model. Her process includes building gestural vessels with ceramic elements along with drawing on the surface with black and white slip and incising tools. “The quick poses are my favorite,” she says, “ because they have so much action packed into the gesture. The need for me to create quickly excites me… . I want the real human figure to influence the shape and exploration of the vessel.”
The Red Wing Award is made possible by the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation, and is presented by Northern Clay Center to a deserving individual at an early stage of a career as a potter or studying or researching the historical aspects of the pottery field.
Mike Helke is a 2005 graduate of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with a B.F.A. in ceramics. He is the Sales Gallery and Exhibitions Assistant at NCC, where he also maintains a studio. He makes functional pottery with surfaces covered in line drawings derived from current and personal events. “Using and making pottery fits into my life functionally, aesthetically and socially,” Helke says. His work was most recently on displayed in the 2007 Strictly Functional Pottery National at the Lancaster Southern Market, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and the 2007 Carbondale Clay National III, at the Carbondale Clay Center, in Carbondale, Colorado.
Pictured above: Donna Flanery, Dog Bowl, 2007, earthenware, 7.5" dia., photo by Peter Lee; Kathy Mommsen, Seated Figure. Mike Helke, Cilantro Leaf Teapot, 2007, white stoneware, 5.5" x 8" x 6", Photo by Peter Lee.