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ferrincontemporary

specialists in contemporary ceramic art 1950-present located on the MASS MoCA campus in the Berkshires

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT is now open at our g

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT is now open at our gallery in the Berkshires, located in North Adams, MA, on the MASS MoCA campus. Pictured here are some installation views of the show, including a visit from a collector’s group from Art Horizons International who visited the gallery on Sunday. @leslieferrin addressed the group and a great time was had by all. We are so excited to be “back at it” and seeing so many of our friends, old and new—on the road and in the gallery.

Isupov’s artist talk and opening reception is on Saturday, June 4 from 4-6 pm, and we would love to see you there. Will you join us?

First three images by @johnpolak and last two by @laurenlevatocoyne #ceramics #sculpture #intheberkshires #visittheberkshires #livebrk

GERARDO MONTERRUBIO: Laberintos Del Delirio “M

GERARDO MONTERRUBIO: Laberintos Del Delirio

“Monterrubio’s work is a generous, unyielding, unmediated and often harrowing glimpse into his experience as an Oaxacan immigrant who emigrated to California in 1989: each sculpture invokes a story across culture and context.” - The Something Machine

@gerardomonterrubio

This was the last stop on my “momentous milestones” road trip last week. Gerardo’s exhibition was on view at his gallery in Bellport, NY, conveniently located in the spacious former body shop adjacent to a gas station (where I filled up +++$$$).

Gerardo and I first met in 2009 when we were introduced by our mutual colleague, Tony Marsh. His work continues to draw me in, sharing narratives on porcelain, painting in black underglaze and strategic use of the qualities and color of glaze. The new work, busts and referencing cultural objects include a madonna and a series of lipstick shaped monuments. Swipe and link to @thesomethingmachine to learn and see more.

1 - 2. Vago (Vagabond), 2022

4. El Ultimo Viaje (The Last Voyage), 2020

5. 31:17-18, 2019

6. Quapaw Ucha, 2019

7. Marcelina’s Flood, 2021

7-8. A Walk Home, 2022

10. Thanks for the great tour! @jeffreyuslip

#gerardomonterrubio
#thesomethingmachine
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

“Making Place Matter” is now open at The Clay

“Making Place Matter” is now open at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia featuring new works by Kukuli Velarde, Molly Hatch and Ibrahim Said and was co-curated by Elizabeth Essner and Jennifer Zwilling.

On my momentous milestone road trip, I had the opportunity to stop by and see the inaugural show at the newly opened facility. This effort was a long time coming, faced numerous challenges (now behind them), involved the community and the result of a ton of work by a big team and lots of generous support. The show “is organized around the complex meanings of place in our contemporary social conversation. A hybrid format symposium with artists, curators and the keynote by Dr. Kelli Morgan @elli616 will take place on Saturday, June 4th. The exhibition runs through October 2, 2022.

1. Jennifer Zwilling curator and director of artistic programs at The Clay Studio

2 - 3. Kukuli Velarde “A Mi Vida”

4 -5. Molly Hatch “Plate Paintings”

6. Ibrahim Said “On the Bank of the Nile” pieced ceramic panel sculpture

#makingplacematter
#theclaystudio
@theclaystudiophl
@jzwilling
@essnerd
@kukuli.velarde
#kukulivelarde
@mollyhatch
#mollyhatch
@ibrahimsaidceramic
#ibrahimsaid

#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

CHRISTYL BOGER - “Float, Sea Toy, Water Wings, W

CHRISTYL BOGER - “Float, Sea Toy, Water Wings, Weekend State” 2005 - 7, at 21C Museum Hotel - Christyl was an extraordinary sculptor who left us way too soon. 21C acquired four of her best works, now on view for all to see behind registration desk. These works acquired at the time are by the flagship hotel that presents art throughout their hotels. Now with multiple locations, the ever expanding collection and rotating exhibition program is exemplary.

Lucky me, I felt right at home when I arrived in Louisville @21chotels

#Christylboger
#porcelain #sculpture #21clouisville #museumhotel

We are still celebrating last week’s opening of

We are still celebrating last week’s opening of This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World at @renwickgallery in Washington, DC.
The exhibition showcase of the dynamic landscape of American craft today. The exhibition highlights the role that artists play in our world to spark essential conversations, stories of resilience, and methods of activism.
This Present Moment marks the 50th Anniversary of SAAM’s Renwick Gallery as the nation’s premier museum dedicated to American craft. An anniversary acquisition campaign, began in 2020, focused on artworks made by a broadly representative and diverse group of American artists. Here is Linda Sikora’s faux wood group a collection of individual stoneware and glaze works. Congrats @sikora.studio and all the artists. We will post more all week. The exhibit continues through April 2023. #ceramics #americancraft #sculpture

Lucy June Sloan - the memorable milestone weekend

Lucy June Sloan - the memorable milestone weekend continued - after DC came KY - Congratulations @lucyysloan - You did it! Lucy applied during the pandemic, got in, moved by herself, started school, joined the protests, made friends, moved again and completed graduate school in record time at University of Louisville School of Medicine - but there’s more - she’s staying on to do her PHD … super proud mama, family and friends!

CHRIS ANTEMANN - “An Occasion to Gather” at Hi

CHRIS ANTEMANN - “An Occasion to Gather” at Hillwood in DC.

My week of momentous milestones included a wonderful tour at Hillwood Museum Estate and Gardens in Washington DC with the James Renwick Alliance and special guests. Chris created two site responsive works in conversation with Marjorie Merriweather Post, her gardens and collections, channeled and guided by curator Rebecca Tilles over the last year. Her two masterpiece works, “An Occasion to Gather: Dining in the French Parterre” included so many details from throughout the house and estate. In the “Dacha”, Tilles’ show “Luxury of Clay: Porcelain Past and Present” includes work by Chris, Bouke de Vries, Cindy Sherman and Eva Zeisel. The show and Chris’s work is on view through June 26th. The azaleas probably have another week but the gardens (and greenhouses) are gorgeous any time of the year. There are two YouTube talks that bring the details to life on Hillwood’s “channel” if you can’t get there in person.

1 - 3. “An Occasion to Gather” in the dining room of the mansion
@antemannchris
@hillwoodmuseum
#chrisantemann
#hillwoodmuseum

4-5. “A Stage for Desert” - in the breakfast room of the mansion.

6. Moi and the magnificent azaleas

7. Bouke de Vries @boukedevries in Luxury of Clay in the Dacha

8. Cindy Sherman edition of Artes Magnus in Luxury of Clay in the Dacha
@cindysherman
#cindysherman @artesmagnus
#artesmagnus

9. Eva Zeisel in Luxury of Clay in the mansion
#evazeisel

10. Curator Rebecca Tilles with a case of Meissen (and one of Chris Antemann’s) in Luxury of Clay in the Dacha

#ferrincontemporaryontheroad
#ferrincontemporaryinthemuseum
#contemporaryporcelain #porcelain #clay #ceramics

Capturing a few of my favorites and savoring the m

Capturing a few of my favorites and savoring the milestone of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick at the opening of “This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World” at the @renwickgallery
#thispresentmoment
@renwickgallery

1. Cristina Cordova - “Arana”, 2004
@cristinacordovastudio
#cristinacordova
2. Kukuli Velarde “Santa Chingada: The Perfect Little Woman”, 1999-2000
@kukuli.velarde
#kukulivelarde
3. Steven Young Lee “Vase with Landscape and Dinosaurs, 2014
@stevenylee #stevenyounglee
4. Kurt Weiser “Many, Many” 2005
#kurtweiser
5. Gwendolyn yoppolo “scoop bowl service”, 2010
#gwendolynyoppolo
@gwendoyo
6. Linda Sikora “Faux Wood Group” 2014-21
#lindasikora
@sikora.studio
7. Linda Sormin “Ta Saparot (pineapple eyes), 2019
#lindasormin
@lindasormin

“This Present Moment” - imagination ruled last

“This Present Moment” - imagination ruled last night … This weekend is the 50th Anniversary of the Renwick Gallery. It was so thrilling to see everyone, in person, celebrating the work of the last two years with artists, generous collectors, courageous curators and colleagues from throughout the country who helped add 200 works to the permanent collection. Last night we saw "This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World.”

#thispresentmoment
#smithsonian @renwickgallery #washingtondc #ceramics #ceramicsculpture

Tonight! This phenomenal show opens and our vision

Tonight! This phenomenal show opens and our visionary founding director @leslieferrin is in attendance, cheering for all the artists.

This show celebrates the 50th Anniversary of SAAM's Renwick Gallery, the nation's premier museum dedicated to American craft. Two years ago when Ferrin Contemporary began working with curators, collectors and artists to support acquisitions through the 50th Anniversary Campaign, we learned we were not alone in our dedication to building a collection that reflects our diverse population. Gathering as we did so many times on Zoom, we found an outpouring of generosity from throughout the country and members of the James Renwick Alliance. Over 200 works were acquired during this campaign with 135 included in the exhibition "This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World.” This weekend, we gather in person to celebrate, remember and reflect on the accomplishments we witnessed during the span of five decades.
@laurenmabry born 1985, Cincinnati, OH, “Glazescape (Green Shade)”, 2021, earthenware with slip and glaze.

Gift of Ted Rowland
#smithsonian @renwickgallery #washingtondc #ceramics #ceramicsculpture

Can it be fixed? There’s something to fix just a

Can it be fixed? There’s something to fix just about everywhere you look and after the news about the Supreme Court last week. In his newest body of work, @sergei__isupov captures the spirit of trying, hoping, doing what you can about it.- yourself. His solo “Past & Present” at @ferrincontemporary opens today. We hesitated to plan an opening given the rising cases, our hunch was right - it’ll be June 4th.

Just announced - masks back on at @massmoca and Building 13.

Sergei Isupov, “Long Journey to Nowhere” front and back, 2022, porcelain, slip, glaze, 12.5 x 11.5 x 11” photo credit: @johnpolak

#ceramicsculptures #berkshires

#pastandpresent
#sergeiisupov #ferrincontemporary
#northadams

Ferrin Contemporary is proud to present the solo e

Ferrin Contemporary is proud to present the solo exhibition by internationally renowned sculptor @sergei__isupov

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT opens Sat., May 7 at our North Adams, MA gallery on the MASS MoCA campus. Isupov's new series of ceramic sculptures are overseen by a multi-dimensional, mixed-media wall installation that reflects on the past and considers the present by an artist originally from Kyiv, Ukraine.

This exhibition comes at a particularly sensitive time for the artist. Born in Stravapole, Russia in 1963, Isupov is the son of a painter and sculptor. He was raised and educated in Kyiv, Ukraine and Tallinn, Estonia when both of these now separate countries were part of the USSR. Isupov's father, mother, and brother, also all established artists, currently reside in Kyiv, Ukraine. With the backdrop of the current war there and threats of Russian aggression in Estonia, Isupov’s recent studio work took on an urgency to counter the overwhelming anxiety and concern for his family facing down threats to their safety and the loss of their formerly peaceful lives.

“This show was especially poignant to watch develop and see the images emerge that express fear, worry, and emotions through the narratives he paints. We are neighbors and share a daily exchange. Concerned about the awful news coming out of Kyiv, I would ask about his mother Nelli, learn she was OK, momentarily relieved. Sergei would return to the studio, to the cycle of worry, processing emotions through the illustration details in his time intensive surfaces," says Leslie Ferrin, founding director of Ferrin Contemporary and Project Art, where this exhibition was produced.

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT
Saturday, May 7 – Sunday, June 26 with an artist talk and reception at the gallery on Saturday, June 4 from 4 – 6pm.

All events at Ferrin Contemporary are FREE. Please let us know if you plan to visit the Berkshires this spring or summer.

Sergei Isupov, “Long Journey to Nowhere” front and back, 2022, porcelain, slip, glaze, 12.5 x 11.5 x 11” photo credit: @johnpolak

#sergeiisupov #ceramics #ceramicsculptures #berkshires

PAST AND PRESENT - @sergei__isupov - It’s been a

PAST AND PRESENT - @sergei__isupov - It’s been a long time since we hosted a solo show at @ferrincontemporary - during the past two years artists have used the pandemic time to push themselves into new territory - this week, Sergei Isupov has been installing his third solo at our gallery as we begin our eighth year on the @massmoca campus. The show presents a new series of sculptures and a wall of twenty five heads, busts, faces - three dimensional portraits installed against a painted audience of people waiting - “Past & Present” - opens this week - talk and reception is June 4th. It is the first of four exhibitions, two public art sculptures and related public events to take place in the Berkshires this spring at @projectart01026 in Cummington and @turnparkartspace in West Stockbridge.

#sergeiisupov #pastandpresent #ferrincontemporary #1315massmocaway
#northadamsma
#ferrincontemporaryinthegallery

The day we met Akinsanya Kambon at Jack Shainman G

The day we met Akinsanya Kambon at Jack Shainman Gallery at The School in Kinderhook - It has been about a year that the @ferrincontemporary team has been working together and after countless zooms we finally met in person. We spent the afternoon looking at his work in Jack’s show “This Tender, Fragile Thing”, and finding photos from the past and archival graphics from the Black Panther days in Oakland. These images brought back memories and lots of stories from when Akinsanya was a young Vietnam Vet, a Panther who drew and illustrated his way through school and then the service. His solo show is on view in NYC at Jacks 24th street location through this week.

@akinsanyakambonart @jackshainman @the_school_kinderhook
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

“This Tender, Fragile Thing” featuring @akinsa

“This Tender, Fragile Thing” featuring @akinsanyakambonart closes tomorrow 4/30 at Jack Shainman’s Hudson Valley gallery The School @the_school_kinderhook

“This Tender, Fragile Thing,” a group exhibition shining a contemporary lens on the gallery’s 2005 exhibition The Whole World is Rotten, which juxtaposed Black Panther materials from the gallery collection alongside works by contemporary artists. This creative exchange highlighted the culture of the 1960s and the development, goals, and achievements of the Black Power movement – the call for people to define themselves and the world on their own terms. By expanding this concept across the 30,000 square feet of The School, the exhibition offers an opportunity to broaden the dialogue and display these pieces in an environment that encourages contemplation and learning.

Akinsanya Kambon, formerly a black panther, is part of this group show; Kambon is also on view in his solo exhibition at @jackshainman in New York City at through May 7, 2022.

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT, a solo show of new

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT, a solo show of new sculptures and drawings, opens May 7 at our North Adams, MA gallery location (located on the MASS MoCA campus). This exhibition comes at a particularly sensitive time for the artist. Born in Stravapole, Russia in 1963, Isupov is the son of a painter and sculptor. He was raised and educated in Kyiv, Ukraine and Tallinn, Estonia when both of these now separate countries were part of the USSR.

Isupov's father, mother and brother are also all established artists and currently reside in Kyiv, Ukraine. With the backdrop of the current war there and threats of Russian aggression in Estonia, Isupov’s recent studio work took on an urgency to counter the overwhelming anxiety and concern for his family facing down threats to their safety and the loss of their formerly peaceful lives.

International recognition came early in his career, working in independent Estonia prior to his move to the United States in 1994. Isupov has been based in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts since 2006. Now, with his wife, artist Kadri Parnaments and their daughter Roosi, they divide their time between two studios/homes in the USA and Estonia. Watch this feed in the coming weeks for install shots, including of his massive wall installation (happening now in the gallery!).

We are keeping odd hours in the gallery this week as we move, install, and shift the space around and will be by chance or appointment only. We begin our SUMMER HOURS on Saturday, May 7, when we will be open six days a week 10-6 until fall. Have you considered a trip to the Berkshires? Let us help you plan what to see and where, there’s an abundance of art and culture in North Adams, Williamstown, and beyond that will fill your cup all summer long.

Sergei Isupov, “Like an Eternity” recto view, porcelain, slip, glaze, 13.5x10x9 inches, 2022 | photo by @johnpolak .
.
#ceramics #sculpture #berkshires #sergeiisupov #figurativeart #ukraine🇺🇦 #ukrainian

TOMORROW | Kukuli Velarde "In Search of a Connecti

TOMORROW | Kukuli Velarde
"In Search of a Connection: Which Aesthetics Belong to Me?"
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Peruvian artist Kukuli Velarde joins Kislak Center Curator Carol Damian to focus on three bodies of work by the artist—Corpus, Plunder Me Baby, and Isichapuitu—and to explore how her work engages the complexities of identity and cultural appropriation in the face of enduring colonization, feminist reimagination, and the challenges of envisioning universal social justice.

Register via 🔗⬆️ and learn more about Kukuli in our stories today.

#mav_peru #internationalacademyofceramics
#mica_ceramics
#tylerceramics
#kislakcenter
#moadmdc @kukuli.velarde

EGGS FOR UKRAINE @sergei__isupov “Porcelain E

It’s not an overstatement to say artist Chris An

It’s not an overstatement to say artist Chris Antemann has been obsessed with the porcelain figurine, both its history and as her own subject, for most of her life. That obsession, coupled with her focus and drive in the studio, has earned her elaborate work its own place in the ongoing history of porcelain figurines.

An Occasion to Gather: Chris Antemann
at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

A decade of collaborative work with the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory lead artist Chris Antemann to yet another type of collaboration with Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.

Dr. Rebecca Tilles, curator of 18th-century Western European art, reached out to Antemann to create two complex porcelain centerpieces for the exhibition The Luxury of Clay: Past and Present at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Unable to resist such a perfect pairing, Antemann and Tilles spent the next 18 months in conversations about Hillwood’s former owner and founder, Marjorie Merriweather Post, her collection, and the estate. Through planning and dialog, Chris created two of her most elaborate, complex works to date, one of which is her largest at more than eight feet long.

Join @antemannchris next week for her virtual artist talk to hear about the amazing decade her work has had, and plans for the next decade. Talk on 4/21, 🔗⬆️. #porcelain #figurine #whitegold #sugarfigurine @hillwoodmuseum

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER “A Mightier Work is Ahead”

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER “A Mightier Work is Ahead” at The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in “Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now, featuring 30 emerging and established artists working across the state. This group survey, featuring approximately 100 works, presents an expansive view of contemporary art in North Carolina both in terms of regional geography and artistic approaches.

“I have been collecting Confederate commemorative plates since 2016 in response to the rise in white supremacist pride in contemporary culture. I imagine these objects as Trojan horses hanging innocently among family photos. These plates were printed long after the Civil War with romantic illustrations, and created for people to hang in their homes, to pass dangerous values down to future generations aided by collectable marketing.

I edit each plate by extracting the Confederate symbols, leaving only the American landscape between the voids. The dust from each removal is harvested and displayed below its plate of origin to show that history cannot be erased; there is still a residue and the dust still remains.

“A Mightier Work is Ahead” - 10 altered pieces from the Jackson and Lee: Legends in Gray collection of commemorative plates
Hand cut found porcelain, dust, glass, cork, gold leaf, and brass, 13” x 8” x 1” each
2021

The title is paraphrased after a Frederick Douglass quote from OUR WORK IS NOT DONE, speech delivered at the annual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society held at Philadelphia, December 3-4, 1863.

But a mightier work than the abolition of slavery now looms up before the Abolitionist. - When we have taken the chains off the slave, as I believe we shall do, we shall find a harder resistance to the second purpose of this great association than we have found even upon slavery itself.”

#elizabethalexander #frederickdouglass
#nasher #nashermuseum
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

KATHY BUTTERLY “Color In Forming” - Kathy set

KATHY BUTTERLY “Color In Forming” - Kathy set her bar high and then stepped over it - I am so pleased I could see this show in person before it closed today. Her work over the last 30 years has always “made me look”. But this show … she’s taken it to the next level. The simple addition of the cube bases brought the delicate feet into a prominent role, no long in the shadow of the form and also provided a place for the glaze to continue its fluid path.

James Cohan’s beautiful, spacious installation, hard edged gallery furniture, triangles and cubes and perfect lighting cast soft but shapely gray shadows.

Twenty four new works, each a jewel! The little carefully chosen details, the folds, the multi fired glazes - so much to see in these powerful works.

@kathybutterly
@jamescohangallery
#kathybutterly
#jamescohangallery
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

Post from Kyiv - How do you explain the day to day

Post from Kyiv - How do you explain the day to day of artists living in Ukraine during the war? - Ilya Isupov @ilya.isupov8 is helping to evacuate children and using his art to tell us in a language we can all understand what it’s like right now.

#isupov a family of artists
#ukraine #kyiv #standwithukraine #supportukraine

We remembered Bob Ellison today - he left such a h

We remembered Bob Ellison today - he left such a huge clay “footprint” - we are so grateful for what he taught us, his gifts and generosity but especially that “Shapes Out of Nowhere” was on view at the @metmuseum despite the challenges of 2020-21 thank you @robertellisonjr and everyone who shared such beautiful stories today.

#robertaellisonjr
#shapesoutofnowhere
#metmuseum
#ceramics

Our friends and colleagues in Sacramento at the @n

Our friends and colleagues in Sacramento at the @nceca conference are sending us such great images of the stunning shows at The Crocker Art Museum. We will spend this weekend sharing images with you from the museum’s permanent collection.

The signature work in CRYSTAL MOREY’s solo exhibition “Venus on the Waves” at Ferrin Contemporary in 2019, was acquired for The
permanent collection Crocker Art Museum.

CHRIS ANTEMANN’s solo exhibition
“Forbidden Fruit: Chris Antemann at Meissen, 2017” included work from her studio “Flower Bed”, 2014, 13" h
now in the permanent collection Crocker Art Museum.

@crockerart @cmorey @cmorey.offtrail @antemannchris #nceca #nceca2022 #ceramics #sacramento

EHREN TOOL “Once a person has witnessed war, the

EHREN TOOL “Once a person has witnessed war, they are forever changed.”

Ehren is getting an award of recognition today at the @nceca conference in Sacramento - on my first extended road trip of 2022 I saw 10 museums and many exhibitions - in person. Over the past two years, so many shows were postponed, rescheduled, extended. Behind the scene, the work by artists and curators went on in studios, via zoom. During this road trip, I enjoyed two opportunities to see the work of Ehren Tool - the details, images and experiences of his time in the service and others is commemorated in the cups he makes, gives away and makes on site with members of the community.

His work in this post were on view in “Shaping Memories” at Virginia MOCA @virginiamoca and the @renwickgallery

#ehrentool @ehrentool
#virginiamoca
#renwickgallery
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

#warisnottheanswer
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad @virginiamoca @renwickgallery

The Crocker Museum of Art in Sacramento, CA is hom

The Crocker Museum of Art in Sacramento, CA is home to one of the largest collections of international ceramics in the U.S. Their exhibitions, collections and programs have created a strong regional identity for the area's contemporary ceramic movement and provides an inclusive, diverse overview of California's important role. In 2021 Rachel Gotlieb, Ph.D. became the first Ruth Rippon Curator of Ceramics, overseeing The Crocker’s extensive collection that includes works dating from prehistoric to contemporary periods.

This spring, in conjunction with the NCECA conference taking place throughout Sacramento, The Crocker has installed several exhibitions and selected works from the permanent collection and one of the conference's cornerstone events, the annual exhibition curated this year by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy. @angelik.wiki @regotlieb

American Expressions/African Roots:
Akinsanya Kambon's Ceramic Sculpture

Akinsanya Kambon's first solo museum show opened in spring 2020 but due to the pandemic closure, few were able to see it in person. The exhibition was extended and opportunities arose that continue to have a profound impact. Last spring, we began behind-the-scenes work to bring attention to his powerful work and tour this important exhibition which has led to a solo exhibition opening on April 7 at Jack Shainman Gallery in NYC. An oral history by Smithsonian Archives of American Art will be recorded in May and this Friday, at the NCECA conference, we congratulate him on receiving the prestigious Regional Award of Excellence in his home town, Sacramento. @crockerart @akinsanyakambonart
#nceca2022

War & Pieces - “What difference does it make to

War & Pieces - “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?”

― Mahatma Gandhi

The porcelain shards in War & Pieces by Bouke de Vries offer layers of history from the military banquets that precede war to the figurines and finally a bed of broken porcelain.

On my first extended road trip of 2022 I got to visit museums and exhibitions and see in person the work by artists and curators I’ve been zooming with for two years.

This is the last weekend to see War & Pieces at @wcmfa in Hagerstown, MD it opens in St. Augustine, FL @lightner_museum in April.

#warandpieces
#boukedevries @boukedevries
#warisnottheanswer
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

Don’t you just want to fall into Lauren Mabry’

Don’t you just want to fall into Lauren Mabry’s colorful cylinder? If you are in Sacramento, or headed there for @nceca, be sure to visit BENEATH THE SURFACE: ORIGIN STORIES
At The Mills Station Arts & Culture Center in Sacramento, CA. They are presenting the non–figurative work of six women, including @laurenmabry. Curated by Nancy M. Servis, the exhibition is on view March 3-19, with a reception on March 17 as part of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference.

Lauren Mabry, “Glaze Flow Cylinder,” 2021, 7.75 x 13.5 x 13″
#ceramics #glazes

MICHAEL SIMON (1947-2021) sadly passed away in Aug

MICHAEL SIMON (1947-2021) sadly passed away in August of 2021.

We are gathering virtually to celebrate his life on Sunday, March 6, 2022 4:00-5:30 pm EST
Please join us.

Michael was a remarkable artist, teacher, colleague, and dear friend. His pottery and teaching transformed the lives of many. Friends and colleagues will share memories, stories—and a few of our treasured Simon pots—at 4–5:30 pm EST on Sunday, March 6th.

This gathering is hosted by Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, which will be stewarding a fully funded fellowship in his name and which is being established by Michael's family and friends. The annual fellowship, awarded in perpetuity once funded, will be reserved for a mid-career functional potter, honoring Michael’s belief in the expressive power of useful, handmade pots and the role of workshops in fostering the creative development of working potters.

The virtual gathering will be recorded and made available for viewing by those who cannot attend. We look forward to this opportunity to come together to celebrate this extraordinary man and artist.

DM for link to RSVP zoom or look on FB

#MichaelSimon
#StudioPotter Fellowship at @haystack_school

Rae Stern Gallery Talk for the close of SHAPING ME

Rae Stern Gallery Talk for the close of SHAPING MEMORIES: EXPRESSIONS IN CLAY | Virginia MOCA | Sunday 3.6.22 | 11am ET | available in-person and online via Facebook Livestream

About the Exhibition
Shaping Memories: Expressions in Clay
The power of memory is immeasurable. Individual recollections are the building blocks of our sense of self, while collective memories help define our culture. In this exhibition, six artists use clay to explore formative moments in their lives as well as stories passed down through generations, inviting viewers to consider both the uniqueness of every individual and our shared identities.

During her residency, Stern conducted community outreach to locate pre-WWII images from the personal albums of local Holocaust survivors and their family members. The images depicted in the porcelain portray daily scenes from pre-war life in communities across Europe that were later annihilated. Stern focuses on the humanity of these men, women, and children, reminding us that immigrants and refugees from all societies, both past and present, often leave behind rich memories.

——

An Acknowledgement from Ferrin Contemporary
As a gallery, we often use our platform to discuss current events through art. Some of our artists address social issues via abstraction while others use the language of art history or fairy tales in direct response to political and cultural events. No matter the style, nearly all our artists investigate contemporary issues through their art. Stern is no exception, speaking directly about the refugee legacy of war in Europe. Stern's archive and digital documentation is vast; when we started the months-long process of gathering materials for this newsletter and our own web site, nobody envisioned Europe would be in this crisis as Stern closes her poignant installation at Virginia MOCA.

Tune in tomorrow at 11 am via @virginiamoca FB livestream. No registration required, just head over to their FB page.

#ceramics #holocaustmemorial #contemporarysculpture

#standwithukraine - My neighbor, the artist Sergei

#standwithukraine - My neighbor, the artist Sergei Isupov, Russian born, grew up in a small town currently under siege, not far from Kyiv when it was occupied by the USSR. He moved to there to attend art school at age 11 to live in a dormitory. He moved to Estonia to further his education where he lived and witnessed the end of the occupation. In 1994, he married American artist, Dana Major @photon.wrangler and moved to Louisville, KY, USA. His experiences in the former countries occupied by USSR and the dissolution in 1989 shaped his childhood, education and continue to inform his life and work.

This picture was taken by Sergei in front of Project Art, in Cummington, MA where we have lived and worked, as neighbors since 2006. Sergei's wife, Kadri Parnamets and their daughter, Roosi still spend summers in Estonia. Sergei's family still lives in Kyiv.

We stand in solidarity with Ukraine as we watch Russia's invasion from so far away.

#ukraine
#solidarityukraine
#standwithukraine
#nowarinukraine

@sergei__isupov
@projectart01026
#onlyonecummington

Did you catch Bouke de Vries in his studio yesterd

Did you catch Bouke de Vries in his studio yesterday? What a treat! If you missed it we wanted to share a piece we love.

Contemporary artist Bouke de Vries’s “Memory Vessel 28” - Chinese porcelain shards enclosed in a covered glass bowl – is part of his ongoing series celebrating the new status of an object after it is broken by accentuating its flaws and damage. The concept of an object’s “condition,” and how something once valuable can be deemed virtually worthless if damaged, led to his artistic ethos of “beauty of destruction” and subsequently to his deconstructing ceramics, as opposed to reconstructing them.

Above: Bouke de Vries
Memory Vessel XXVIII , 2015
Porcelain: China (Kangxi period), 1600s, famille verte hard-paste porcelain, glass
9 7/8 x 6 ¾” on loan from a private collection.
On view now in THE LUXURY OF CLAY: PORCELAIN PAST AND PRESENT at Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Gardens through June 26, curated by Dr. Rebecca Tilles.

Featuring more than 140 objects, the exhibition traces the remarkable development of porcelain, from its origins in China to its discovery in Europe in the early 18th century, leading to contemporary artistic interpretations of this material. Drawing inspiration from examples from China, Germany, France, and more, Chris Antemann (b. 1971), Bouke de Vries (b. 1960), and Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) underscore the continued inspiration and influence of historical porcelain on artists today. @boukedevries @hillwoodmuseum

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GALLERY ARTISTS

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