NEWS & MEDIA
Video by the Everson Museum of Art/ Music by: The High Llamas
Structure/Dissonance celebrates nearly five decades of work by New York-based artist Raymon Elozua, who first came to prominence in the 1970s with detailed trompe l’oeil ceramic sculptures of decaying industrial landscapes. Elozua’s first major museum exhibition since his 2003 retrospective at the Mint Museum, Structure/Dissonance focuses on three conceptual bodies of work that explore the combined physical properties of three elemental materials: ceramic, glass, and steel. This exhibition contextualizes these vital sculptures within Elozua’s intellectual landscape through the inclusion of a series of collections and research projects that are inextricably linked to his artistic output.
September 10—December 31, 2022 at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY – curated by Garth Johnson
The catalog features essays by Johnson, Maria Porges, and Thyrza Nichols Goodeve, 2022
Published on Dec 27, 2022
SERGEI ISUPOV: Earth & Sky Fire Sculpture
June 11, 2022. Internationally renowned artist Sergei Isupov, in collaboration with Andres Allik of Estonia, built and fired the first petal kiln in New England. A unique spectacle, the petal kiln opened at the peak of firing to reveal the massive ceramic sculpture, called the Earth & Sky fire sculpture. Isupov’s Earth & Sky fire sculpture was the centerpiece of TurnPark’s Annual Summer Festival which presented an array of multicultural performances, visual artworks, and music under the theme of Healing Flames on June 11.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ILLUSTRATION AND RACE
A series of compelling talks by Heather Campbell Coyle, Ph.D; Karen Fang, Ph.D; Michele Bogart, Ph.D.; Theresa Leininger-Miller, Ph.D.; and Leonard Davis, followed by conversation with the commentators.
These concise presentations by Imprinted: Illustrating Race catalogue authors and exhibition lenders will focus on widely-circulated historical representations of race in the press and in popular culture that established a sense of American nationalism for white audiences through the subjugation of Indigenous, Black, and Asian people and cultures.
Leonard Davis, designer and collector
View the Entire Symposium Playlist from the Norman Rockwell Museum
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 START
00:13 Welcome
04:49 Opening Remarks
22:50 Panel: Hidden in Plain Sight – Illustrated Ceramics and American Identity
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: ILLUSTRATED CERAMICS AND AMERICAN IDENTITY
Panelists: Leslie Ferrin, Elizabeth Alexander, Jacqueline Bishop, Judy Chartrand, Niki Johnson, and Paul Scott.
Hidden in plain sight, illustrations on porcelain and ceramic ware have, throughout history, transformed functional objects into message-bearers for a wide range of political and propagandistic causes, whether exchanged by heads of state or acquired for use or display in domestic settings. Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Contemporary will discuss the imagery, drawn from popular nineteenth-century prints, that was reproduced on widely distributed ceramics portraying historical events, indigenous people, and notable explorers, inventors, and politicians through a white European lens. The panel will explore how these seemingly ordinary objects, including Rockwell collector plates, have helped to establish firmly held beliefs about American identity. Artists Elizabeth Alexander, Jacqueline Bishop, Judy Chartrand, Niki Johnson, and Paul Scott, will discuss contemporary ceramics, which reject systems of racial oppression and invite reconsideration of the sanitized version of history that was presented for generations.
View Hidden in Plain Sight: Illustrated Ceramics and American Identity
TIMESTAMPS
September 15, 2021. Ferrin Contemporary Curator Conversation featuring artists Courtney M. Leonard, Paul Scott, and Norwood Viviano. Moderated by Jami Powell, Ph.D., Curator of Indigenous Art, Hood Museum, Dartmouth University (Hanover, NH).
July 24, 2021 | Hosted by Ferrin Contemporary (North Adams, MA) and co-organized with Heller Gallery (New York), this artist talk in conjunction with the opening of MELTING POINT features artists Sydney Cash, Gregg Moore, Robert Silverman, Raymon Elozua, Sally Silberberg, and Tom Patti.
FOUNDERS’ HOUR FEATURING Paul Scott with Leslie Ferrin & Brian Gallagher
June 11, 2021 | The Mint Museum’s Founders’ Circle is pleased to present their first ever International Founders’ Hour featuring UK-based artist, Paul Scott. From his studio in Cumbria, Scott creates contemporary versions of traditional blue and white transferware ceramics, updating this historic media for the 21st century. Scott’s work engages political and social issues that resonate with our lives today, questioning the cultural history of transferware ceramics in the dissemination of national ideas and settler-centric narratives.
View Founders’ Hour featuring Paul Scott with Leslie Ferrin & Brian Gallagher on Vimeo.
June 7, 2021 | For the 50th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s Raid the Icebox exhibition, RISD Museum invited eight contemporary artists and collectives to mine the museum, taking inspiration from objects or incorporating objects into new installations that reconsider how collections can be reimagined.
View Ferrin Contemporary in Conversation: Raid the Icebox Now with Elizabeth Williams, Beth Katleman, and Paul Scott on Vimeo.
FOUNDERS’ HOUR FEATURING Peter Pincus with Leslie Ferrin & Brian Gallagher
February 23, 2021 | Virtual program hosted by the Mint Museum’s Founder’s Circle with “ceramic techno star” Peter Pincus and an introduction by Brian Gallagher curator of Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries. We’re going to cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes, studio tour, artistic practice, research and recent work in response to Josiah Wedgwood and conceptual theories behind Sol LeWitt.
View Founders’ Hour featuring Peter Pincus with Leslie Ferrin & Brain Gallagher on Vimeo.
As this unusual time has moved us all to new digital and virtual platforms, we’re happy to present our In-Progress News & Media Page on our website, which includes our Newsletter Archives, Press & Blog Posts, Director’s Notes, Instagram Feed & this Video Library.
Thank you to the Always Creative Peter Pincus for our Newest & Most Amusing Video Yet!
Artist Peter Pincus narrates this virtual tour of his 2020 exhibition, ART IN THE AGE OF INFLUENCE: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt, presented at Ferrin Contemporary’s gallery on the campus of MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA.
View Virtual Tour: ART IN THE AGE OF INFLUENCE: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt on Vimeo.
Peter Pincus in conversation with Garth Johnson, Everson Museum of Art & Anne Forschler, Birmingham Museum of Art. The discussion will include a video tour of “ART IN THE AGE OF INFLUENCE: Peter Pincus | Sol Lewitt” at Ferrin Contemporary with director Leslie Ferrin on the campus of MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA. Pincus will be speaking from his studio in Rochester, NY.
View Ferrin Contemporary & Peter Pincus | In the Everson Museum’s Online Classes & Studio Tours on Vimeo.
Garth Johnson, the Everson Museum of Art‘s Paul and Philips and Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics will join Ferrin Contemporary’s director, Leslie Ferrin to discuss the exhibition NATURE/NURTURE and the role of gender in contemporary ceramics. Mara Superior and additional artists from the exhibition will also join in from their studio(s) to discuss their practice and new work in process.
View Ferrin Contemporary & ‘Nature/Nurture’ | In the Everson Museum of Art’s Virtual Class on Vimeo.
LAUREN MABRY | NATURE/NURTURE VIRTUAL TOUR
Virtual Tour of Lauren Mabry’s ‘ Glaze Flow Blocks, and cylinders in NATURE/NURTURE, the 2020 group exhibition of twelve contemporary female artists invited to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their practice at Ferrin Contemporary on the campus of MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.
KADRI PÄRNAMETS | NATURE/NURTURE
Virtual Tour of Kadri Pärnamets‘ Moor, Spring Announcers, Noon Dance, Sultry Night, and Waggle Dance in NATURE/NURTURE, the 2020 group exhibition of twelve contemporary female artists invited to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their practice at Ferrin Contemporary on the campus of MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.
Virtual Tour of Linda Sormin’s Reshaping Rage (when revenge makes perfect sense) in NATURE/NURTURE, the 2020 group exhibition of twelve contemporary female artists invited to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their practice at Ferrin Contemporary on the campus of MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.
Virtual Tour of Linda Sikora‘s Faux Wood Group in NATURE/NURTURE, the 2020 group exhibition of twelve contemporary female artists invited to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their practice at Ferrin Contemporary on the campus of MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.
GISELLE HICKS | NATURE/NURTURE
Virtual Tour of Giselle Hicks‘ Group of Vessels in NATURE/NURTURE, the 2020 group exhibition of twelve contemporary female artists invited to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their practice at Ferrin Contemporary on the campus of MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.
GISELLE HICKS | SPHERE FORM PROCESS
This time-lapse video shows how ceramic artist Giselle Hicks builds her Sphere Forms.
Ferrin Contemporary is pleased to present a collection of videos produced by our gallery and various partners, including artists, galleries, museums, and arts organizations on our Vimeo & YouTube Channels.
Launched in the summer of 2020, the collection will continually grow, so please check back for additional content and subscribe to our platforms for notifications of new videos.
The Clay Studio Presents: Clay & Conversations Online Lectures with Cristina Córdova & Sergei Isupov
FERRIN CONTEMPORARY ON-THE-ROAD & INSTAGRAM
Follow Ferrin Contemporary’s instagram feed for visual updates on our artists and gallery activities. Follow Leslie Ferrin, director and founder, on her travels as she takes Ferrin Contemporary on the road to explore and discover great contemporary ceramic art around the US and abroad.
Want more? For full Instagram feeds, visit and follow instagram.com/ferrincontemporary and instagram.com/leslieferrin.
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