Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics: The Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection

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Mar 4, 2012 – Jun 3, 2012
Beck Building, Ground Floor
5601 Main Street
New York-based scholars and gallerists Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio have been leaders in the ceramics field for three decades, assembling one of the most important private collections of contemporary ceramics in the world. In 2007, the MFAH acquired the Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection of some 475 artworks, as well as the accompanying library and artist archive. Shifting Paradigms presents nearly 160 objects—ceramics and works on paper—from this richly diverse collection, which includes major international figures such as Kenjiro Kawai, Jean-Pierre Laroque, Adrian Saxe, Peter Voulkos, and Beatrice Wood, many of whom are represented in depth, as well as examples by Anthony Caro, Lucio Fontana, Claes Oldenburg, and Grayson Perry. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue, copublished by the MFAH and Yale University Press.

Shartle Symposium “Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics”
Saturday March 3rd, 1pm-5pm Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics: The Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection. Welcome and Opening Remarks | Cindi Strauss, MFAH assistant director, programming; curator, modern and contemporary decorative arts and design; organizing curator of the exhibition Sealed Capsule | Garth Clark, scholar, gallerist, and collector
Is the 20th-century ceramics movement over? In the 21st century, is ceramics a fully accepted fine-arts material but no longer an autonomous discipline? If so, is this a good thing? Garth Clark examines a turning point in this millennia-old medium. On Conscripting Mugs and Other Ceramics into Life’s Battles for Independence | Ezra Shales, associate professor of art history, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
In the field of ceramics, a distinction is often made between “functional” objects and “art” objects—a binary opposition that is both reductive and misleading. Ezra Shales critiques the validity of the term “functional” and investigates how drinking vessels remain key tools in the assertion of one’s identity. SHORT BREAK The Well-Wrought Urn | Jenni Sorkin, assistant professor, contemporary art and critical studies, School of Art, University of Houston
This talk reconsiders Garth Clark’s groundbreaking exhibition American Ceramics, 1876 to the Present against the backdrop of mid-20th-century formalism, in particular Cleanth Brooks’s The Well-Wrought Urn (1947), Herbert Read’s criticism on modern sculpture, and the Syracuse Annuals exhibition series. From Postmodernism to Postindustrialism | Jorunn Veiteberg, professor of curatorial studies and craft theory, Bergen National Academy of the Arts, Norway
A re-evaluation of the decorative and a reuse of historical forms were central to ceramics in the 1980s, the key decade of Postmodernism. But what has happened since? Are contemporary ceramics still Postmodern, or have new paradigmatic shifts taken place? Panel Discussion | Mark Del Vecchio joins the speakers. Moderated by Cindi Strauss. Reception | The audience is invited to a wine reception with the speakers in the lobby of the Beck Building, and to view the exhibition.http://mfah.org/calendar/36th-annual-ruth-k-shartle-symposium/5192/

Shared Journeys II: Chinese/American Ceramic Art and Education Symposium

West Virginia University, NCECA, and Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute cordially

invites you to Shared Journeys II: Chinese/American Ceramic Art and

Education Symposium. The symposium will be hosted by WVU in Morgantown,

WV. We will be have demos, lectures, exhibitions, receptions, and a city-wide

artswalk.

WVU NCECA Shared Journeys II

Symposium on Chinese and American Ceramic Education

October 14-16, 2011

West Virginia University-Morgantown, WV

Speakers and Presenters include:

Val Cushing, Lv Pinchang, Bill Strickland, Gong Baoija, Dr. Elizabeth Lacouture,

Yang Bing, Dryden Wells, Li Chao, Joe Molinaro and many more…

For registration and info: (Early bird discounts end Sept. 5, 2011)

http://nceca.net/static/SJ2_symposia.php

or

http://art.ccarts.wvu.edu/shared_journeys_ii

Shoji Satake

Assistant Professor/Ceramics Area Coordinator

West Virginia University

College of Creative Art

Division of Art and Design

Morgantown, WV

304-293-3512

[email protected]

Tactile Desires: The Work of Jack Sures


September 24, 2011 – January 2, 2012

Mackenzie Art Gallery – Regina Saskatchewan

http://www.mackenzieartgallery.ca/Exhibitions/Upcoming_Exhibitions/302/

September 23: Exhibition Opening

Join artist Jack Sures in celebration of this retrospective exhibition. Enjoy food, drinks and a live music performance by Ben and Nadine Sures. Feeling creative? Add your one-of-a-kind clay tile to our public art wall. 7:30pm, Free, Cash BarThis exhibition is the first retrospective of one of Canada’s most significant ceramists—a multi-faceted figure whose exuberant and sensuous work traverses the categories of craft, fine art and public monument. In addition to offering a comprehensive look at his work from the early 1960s to the present, this retrospective will address his important role and influence as an educator and mentor.

Over the past fifty years, Jack Sures has contributed significantly to the advancement of ceramic art in Canada, including his implementation of the printmaking and ceramics programs at the University of Regina in 1965, where from 1969 to 1971 he served as chairman for the Department of Visual Arts.

Sures trained as a painter and printmaker, honed his ceramics skills initially in London, England at Chelsea Pottery and studied the works of ceramic artists in the museums and galleries of Europe and the Middle East. In 1962, he returned to Canada and set up his own pottery studio in Winnipeg, eventually moving to Regina, where he continues to live and work today.

In 1969, Sures initiated the exhibition California Ceramics: Shaw, Frimkess, Gilhooly, Melchert at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, which introduced Regina to the California Funk movement. He is part of the group of maverick ceramists including Victor Cicansky, Joe Fafard, David Gilhooly and Marilyn Levine, who in the 1960s liberated ceramics from its traditional, functional role and instead utilized it as a sculptural material. The “Regina Clay” group, as they came to be known, rallied against anything that could be considered dogmatism within the constricts of visual arts and ceramics. However, Sures never rejected the fundamentals inherent in vessel-making continuing to incorporate them as part of his craft.September 24: One Day Symposium

Tactile Desires: The Work of Jack Sures

Join artists and academics for a glimpse into the practice and legacy of Jack Sures. Listen in on a conversation with the artist, Head Curator at the MacKenzie,Timothy Long and Director/Curator of the Tom Thompson Art Gallery, Virginia Eichhorn. Including discussion with Matthew Kangas, Sandra Alfoldy, Alan Elder, Julia Krueger, Susan Surette, Ruth Chambers, Mel Bolen and Sin-ying Ho and a film screening of The Murals of Jack Sures by Linda Corbett. 1:00-5:00pm, Free www.eyeris.ca/pages/JackSures – This 5 minute web trailer from the full length Jack Sures documentary features the intro sequence and a portion of the Canadian Museum of Civilization mural sequence.

The MacKenzie Art Gallery and Tom Thomson Art Gallery are pleased to be working together to premier this important exhibition, as well as a publication, video presentation, and related programming in Regina before touring it to galleries across Canada. Organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. This project has been made possible in part through a contribution from the Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage.

Image: Jack Sures, The Answer, stoneware tiles. Collection of Jack Sures and Cara Gay Driscoll. Photo by Don Hall.

Material Matters @ the ANU

van den Heuvel, Kao-Lin

Material Matters is a major exhibition focusing on works drawn from the ANU Ceramics Workshop Teaching collection. It links a broad range of community based events which will involve all members of Canberra’s ceramic networks. From professional masterclasses and open workshops, from community woodfirings to exhibitions, from guided school tours to the symposium there will be something for everyone.

International Visiting Artists include Anton Reijnders | Netherlands
Netty van den Heuvel | Netherlands
Ray Chen | Taiwan/USA
Christina Bryer | South Africa

SYMPOSIUM | MATERIAL MATTERS

Presentations by students, faculty and artists on the nature & meaning of their material research. Submissions for papers (20mins) are invited – please contact Janet DeBoos | [email protected] Friday 19th August 6-8pm Exhibition opening / Reception
Saturday 20th August 10am – 5pm Keynote speaker Anton Reijnders
Sunday 21st August 9am-12pm & 1 – 3pm Open Studio Cost $55 gst incl (includes reception & Saturday lunch $30 gst free (Full Time secondary and tertiary students)

WORKSHOPS

Ray Chen | Material expression (presentation and demonstration)
Thursday 4 August 10 – 4pm
Cost: $66 gst incl

In this demonstration workshop on the expressive use of clay, Visiting Artist Ray Chen (USA) will lead students to examine the potential of clay to describe emotion and feeling, whilst considering the sculptural requirements of 3-D objects. His work on the theme of Mother & Child will also be discussed and aspects of its making explained.

Joanne Searle | Transferring – transfer printing on clay
Saturday 6 August 9 – 1pm
Cost: $33 gst incl

This one day workshop will cover various ‘print on clay’ techniques including plaster monoprints, fabric & tissue transfer as well as low-tech etching. These printed surfaces will be applied to both wheel thrown and hand built forms. Various methods of treating the surface at the raw, bisque & high firing stages will be covered. Tiles and materials will be provided at cost.

Janet DeBoos | I can see clearly…
Sunday 7 August 9 – 1pm
Cost: $33 gst incl

A good clear glaze- although often seen as the simplest of ceramic surfaces- is frequently difficult to achieve. This workshop will examine the reasons why a glaze is not clear, how to make it clear, and how clear glazes can be adjusted for different temperatures. Demonstration materials and tiles supplied at cost.

Anton Reijnders | Thinking through making (terra sigillata)
Tuesday & Wednesday 9 & 10 August, 9am – 1pm Cost $66 gst incl

In this workshop- the renowned Netherlands author of ‘The Ceramic Process’ (A&C Black) will ask “What makes a good terra sigillata? On the basis of practical tests students will find out how to make and apply terra sigillata and moreover learn about the mineralogical makeup of clay. Materials supplied at cost. Student should bring no less than 100gs of dried, pulverised clay to the workshop- preferably gathered locally- but could be any dried commercially available body.

Netty van den Heuvel | Dialogue in 3 Dimensions (mixed media workshop)
Thursday & Friday, 11 & 12 August 9 – 1pm & 2 – 4pm
Cost: $110 gst incl

An exploratory workshop in three dimensions, using clay, and found objects, as well as an enquiry into the potential of combining clay with other materials such as silicone. Students will be invited to go through a series of structured exercises in finding, looking and making

Greg Daly | Alchemy- lustre glazes
Saturday & Sunday, 13&14 August 10 – 1pm
Cost $66 gst incl

This two day workshop with acclaimed glaze maestro Greg Daly (author of Lustre- A&C Black- due to be released early 2012) will cover all aspects- making, applying and firing- of that enigmatic ceramic surface -lustre.
Four different ways of achieving this surface will be explained- pigment lustre, lustre glazes, resin lustres and fuming. Materials will be provided at cost.

Christina Bryer | Working with porcelain from a non traditional angle
Thursday 18 August 10 – 4pm
Cost $66 gst incl

This demonstration workshop will attempt to unravel the three interwoven aspects of Christina’s work and examine them in the light of the following themes:
Art & Design (inspirations and influences), Geometry (Aperiodic Tiling and Sacred Geometry, from Plato to Penrose and back again) and Technical Explanations (working with porcelain in a non-traditional way)

(Note that all workshops are subject to minimum numbers to run, and will be cancelled with less than five participants. There are also a ton of exhibitions and other events taking place. Please visit their website here for all the details and make sure to attend if you can, sound like a good one!

Shared Journeys II: a symposium on Chinese/American Ceramic Art and Education

October 14-16, 2011

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
REGISTER ONLINE NOW

Background and Overview
Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu wrote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Shared Journeys II will explore achievements in Chinese ceramics and influences in the west by examining the legacies and tensions of craftsmanship, pedagogy, philosophy and social currents that have shaped traditions and transformed ceramic art into the present day. Our collaborative journey started with the Shared Journeys Symposium held in October 2008 in Jingdezhen, China. NCECA, West Virginia University and the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute co-sponsored that event. We now extend an invitation to for you to join in the journey by attending 3 days of inter-cultural discovery on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. Programming will include distinguished lecturers, demonstrations and exhibitions.
Registration
Shared Journeys II participant numbers will be limited to maximize opportunities for effective communication and observation. Registration will be limited to no more than 160 participants on a first-come-first served basis.
Registration fees include 2 lunches and 1 dinner. Registration fees will not be pro-rated.

Pre-Symposium Registration ends midnight October 1, 2011.
After this date, please contact [email protected] about availability of onsite registration.

More details here.