What types of art do you specialize in?

We specialize in contemporary ceramics from the 1950s onward, including clay and porcelain sculptures.

Do you offer collection services?

Yes, we work with private collectors and artist archives to organize, document, and appraise ceramic art collections for deacquisition or placement.

Can you help with exhibition development?

Absolutely, we collaborate with museums and cultural institutions to develop and present ceramic art exhibitions.

Do you provide touring programs?

Yes, we curate and organize touring exhibitions for contemporary ceramic artists.

What are legacy projects?

Legacy projects include customized services for artists, such as retrospective catalogs, exhibitions, and museum acquisitions.

Project Tag: 1315 MASS MoCA Way

Jan

2024

Our America/Whose America? at Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, MA

AUGUST 6 – OCTOBER 30, 2022

Ferrin Contemporary

1015 Mass MoCA Way
North Adams, MA

EXHIBITION DETAILS

ABOUT
ARTISTS
CATALOG
PRESS & PROGRAMMING
OAWA | 2024 IN RICHMOND

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

OUR AMERICA/WHOSE AMERICA?

AUGUST 6 – OCTOBER 30, 2022

Our America, Whose America presents a dialogue between contemporary artists and a collection of commercially produced ceramics. This collection of historical objects, collected across the span of several years by Founding Director Leslie Ferrin, is in the form of plates, souvenirs, and figurines from the early 19th through mid-20th centuries. The items were produced in England, Occupied Japan, and various factories in the USA. The exhibition title was chosen from a series of plates produced by Vernon Kiln that features illustrations of American scenes by the painter Rockwell Kent.

In response to this historical collection, contemporary works by nearly 30 participating artists will provide new context and interpretation of these profoundly powerful objects. Seen now, decades and in some cases centuries later, the narratives they deliver through image, characterization, and stereotype, whether overt and bombastic or subtle and cunning, form a collective memory that continues to impact the way people see themselves and others today.

View the historic collection HERE
View the 2022 Press Release HERE

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

Throughout our forty-year history, we have used multi-artist survey exhibitions as a platform to explore social issues. We’ve focused on gender and feminist perspectives, broached relationship taboos, and challenged historical notions of ceramics and art.

The contemporary artists we’ve invited use their work to assert their autonomy and subjectivity by presenting intertwined cultural critiques through lenses of their own choosing, starting with race, gender, and class. Each of these categories is tentacular and touches upon myriad other ideas including nature, warfare, food and water inequity, and more.

Elizabeth Alexander

Russell Biles

Jacqueline Bishop

Judy Chartrand

CRANK

Cristina Córdova

Connor Czora

Michelle Erickson

Sergei Isupov

Salvador Jiménez-Flores

Jennifer Ling Datchuk

Beth Lo **

Angelica Pozo

Leo Quiles

Paul Scott

Rae Stern

Momoko Usami

Kukuli Velarde

Jason Walker

**courtesy Lucy Lacoste Gallery

* courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery

VIEW LIST OF ARTISTS

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER

RUSSELL BILES

JACQUELINE BISHOP

JUDY CHARTRAND

CRANK

CONNOR CZORA

MICHELLE ERICKSON

SERGEI ISUPOV

SALVADOR JIMÉNEZ-FLORES

Jennifer Ling Datchuk Artist Portrait, Photo by Kohler Co.

GARTH JOHNSON

NIKI JOHNSON

AKINSANYA KAMBON

BECKIE KRAVETZ

STEVEN YOUNG LEE

Jennifer Ling Datchuk Artist Portrait, Photo by Kohler Co.

JENNIFER LING DATCHUK

BETH LO *

ANGELICA POZO

LEO QUILES

PAUL SCOTT

RAE STERN

MOMOKO USAMI

KUKULI VELARDE

JASON WALKER

2022 | OUR AMERICA/WHOSE AMERICA? EXHIBITION CATALOG

Exhibition and catalog production by Ferrin Contemporary staff, catalog layout by Rory Coyne with installation and artwork photography by John Polak Photography, 2022.

58 Page Catalog
Introduction by the Gallery
Featuring 23 Artists
Installation & Artwork Photos by John Polak Photography

Published by Ferrin Contemporary

2022 | PRESS & PROGRAMMING

NRM | SYMPOSIUM

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ILLUSTRATION AND RACE, Exhibition & Symposium at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ILLUSTRATION AND RACE

Zoom Webinar (online)
Welcome and Opening Program:
Friday, September 23, 2022
7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Symposium Presentations and Panels:
Saturday, September 24, 2022
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: ILLUSTRATED CERAMICS AND AMERICAN IDENTITY

Panelists: Leslie Ferrin, Elizabeth Alexander, Jacqueline Bishop, Judy Chartrand, Niki Johnson, and Paul Scott.

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.

SYMPOSIUM FEATURES

Hidden in Plain Sight: Illustrated Ceramics and American Identity

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Introduction to Symposium co-curators Stephanie Plunkett and Robyn Phillips Pendleton

23:00 Introduction

28:00 Leslie Ferrin Our America/Whose America? collection and exhibition

46:00 Jacqueline Bishop

52:00 Paul Scott

1:02:00 Elizabeth Alexander

1:11:00 Johnson

1:21:00 Judy Chartrand

1:37:00 Q&A

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.

Historical Perspectives on Illustration and Race

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

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.

Witness to History: Collecting Black Americana
Leonard Davis, designer and collector

PAST PRESS

Ferrin Contemporary | Exhibition | 2022

OUR AMERICA/WHOSE AMERICA | Featured in The Berkshire Eagle: Artistic Landscape

OUR AMERICA/WHOSE AMERICA | Featured in Ceramics Now: Exhibitions

OUR AMERICA/WHOSE AMERICA | PRESS RELEASE | 9.13.22 update

PAST PROGRAMMING

Ferrin Contemporary | Exhibition | 2022

OPENING RECEPTION

Thursday, August. 11, 2022 | 5-7 pm
during Building 13 Art Walk

CLOSING RECEPTION

Special Guest Artist Paul Scott (UK)

Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 | 5-7 pm

Closing reception of the ‘OAWA’ exhibition at Ferrin Gallery, with special guest artist Paul Scott (UK) in attendance, as well as select additional artists and the curators in the exhibition.

at Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, MA

SYMPOSIUM

Historical Perspectives on Illustration and Race

Zoom Webinar (online)
Welcome and Opening Program:
Friday, September 23, 2022
7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Symposium Presentations and Panels:
Saturday, September 24, 2022
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Apr

2023

ARE WE THERE YET?

JULY 15 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

• PUBLIC RECEPTION •
Thursday, August 3, 5-7 pm
View Reception Photos

View Press Release
Exhibiting Artists
See Programming
Inquire Below

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY

1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

Last Exhibit at the North Adams, MA Location

Visit Ferrin Contemporary at Project Art after Sep. 30th

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

North Adams, MA —

NORTH ADAMS, MA – ARE WE THERE YET? is a celebration of Ferrin Contemporary’s 40+ years as leaders in the field of modern and contemporary ceramics. What began in 1979 as a woman-owned cooperative studio and gallery in Northampton, MA has flourished across the years and the locations to become the international ceramic experts and material champions known as Ferrin Contemporary.

During the course of four decades, the gallery has championed artists whose primary medium is clay. Beginning with a commitment to providing support for living artists, decades-long relationships grew with artists whose works explore traditions and history, deliver social commentary, experiment with the material, and use the medium to challenge themselves to produce new works.

As part of the exhibition, selected classic works will be presented directly from the artists’ archives or offered by private collectors, illustrating career highlights both in the gallery and online. The exhibition asks us, the artists, and the collectors to reflect on the road we’ve taken and invites the public to join the dialog while we speculate about the future.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

ANTEMANN 2003 - Present

2003 : Chris Antemann began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery at the SOFA, NY Art Fairs
“Are We There Yet?” : Marks 20 years of showing with the gallery
“An Occasion to Gather”, & “A Stage for Dessert” produced in 2021-2022 are major works currently on view in museum exhibitions
“Lovers Vase in Blue” from a series produced in 2023 from her studio located in Joseph, OR

CHRIS ANTEMANN

BILES 2003 - Present

2003 : Russell Biles began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery at the SOFA, NY Art Fairs
“Are We There Yet?” : Marks 20 years of showing with the gallery
2020 : Exhibited works with Ferrin Contemporary in “About Face: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture”
2022: “Canceled”, produced for “OUR AMERICA/WHOSE AMERICA?”
“Gone Too”: made in 2014 from the Artists Archive, available here

RUSSELL BILES

CÓRDOVA 2013 - Present

2013 : Cristina Córdova began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in “Ceramic Top 40” touring exhibition
“Are We There Yet?” : Marks 10 years of showing with the gallery
Cristina’s solo show “CRISTINA CÓRDOVA: Del balcón” debuts at Ferrin in 2018
“EVA XV”: Among over 60 Artworks Handled or Documented by the gallery

CRISTINA CÓRDOVA

ELOZUA 2000 - Present

(c. 2003) Raymon Elozua began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery at the SOFA, NY Art Fairs
(2000) “Are We There Yet?” : Marks 23 years showing with the gallery first in “TEAPOTS TRANSFORMED”
(2015) Raymon Elozua showed work from his “Digital Sculpture: Word” Series produced in 2001, in the group exhibition “GLAZED & DIFFUSED”
(2023) Work on display in AWTY includes “Digital Sculpture: Hubris: IMF-02” from his HUBRIS (2010-2016) produced in his studio in Mountaindale, NY

RAYMON ELOZUA

SIN YING HO 2014 - Present

(2014) Sin Ying Ho began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in “MADE IN CHINA: THE NEW EXPORT WARE”, at Independent Art Projects, North Adams, MA
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 9 years of showing with the gallery, on display is “Made in the Postmodern Era series No. 1”
“In the Dream of Hope No. 1”, & “One World, Many Peoples, No. 2” are the largest works exhibited by Ferrin in US
(2006-Present) Ho has taught and run workshops, lectures, and exhibitions all across North America & China and is Assistant Professor at Queens College, NY

SIN-YING HO

ISUPOV 1996 - Present

(1996) Sergei Isupov began exhibiting with Leslie Ferrin in Richmond, VA
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 27 years of showing with the gallery, on display is “Burden II”, “Puppeteer”, & “Game Changer” as well as works available from private collections including “Voice from Inside” (1997), “Complacency” (1998), & “Chain” (1999)
Isupov speaks in depth about Ukrainian artist family in interviews : THE WORLD & Tales of a Red Clay Rambler
(2022) “SERGEI ISUPOV: Past & Present” is Isupov’s 10th solo exhibition

SERGEI ISUPOV

LEE 2013 - Present

(2013) Steven Young Lee began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in “CERAMIC TOP 40”
(2014-2015) Lee exhibits “Vase with Peonies” in the group exhibition “GLAZED & DIFFUSED”
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 10 years of showing with the gallery
Steven Young Lee is both an artist and arts administrator, serving as the Resident Artist Director of the Bray for 15 years and is currently the Director Emeritus and Special Projects Manager
“Jar with Butterflies”, shown in AWTY, was originally shown in “Covet” in 2012 at the gallery’s location in Pittsfield, MA, and is available from a private collection.

STEVEN YOUNG LEE

LEONARD 2021 - Present

(2021) Courtney M. Leonard began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in 2021 in “Melting Point”
(2023) “Are We There Yet?” Marks 2 years showing with the gallery, work on display in AWTY includes pieces from Leonard’s CONVOKE Series produced in 2021
(2023) COURTNEY M. LEONARD: Logbook 2004-2023 at The Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY is Leonard’s most recent solo exhibition paired with a public art installation at Planting Fields Foundation.

COURTNEY M. LEONARD

LIPMAN 2018 - Present

(2018) Beth Lipman began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in 2018 in “Canary Syndrome”
(2021) Lipman installed “Lapsed Concession” for “Melting Point”, a group exhibition presented by The Heller Gallery & Ferrin Contemporary
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 5 years showing with the gallery, with “Cluster (Black)”, representative of her glass sculptural work.
2023+) Lipman’s work includes site-specific installations and commissioned works like “Miles’ Law” presented in “GLASS: Art.Beauty.Design” at Hillwood Estate Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, Washington, D.C.

BETH LIPMAN

Mabry 2014 - Present

(2014) Lauren Mabry began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in the “Ceramic Top 40”
(2015) Mabry’s signature-glazed cylinders shown in the 2015 group exhibition “GLAZED & DIFFUSED”
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 9 years showing with the gallery, featuring the artist’s Glazescape Cave Bloom Series
(2019) Lauren Mabry’s first solo show at the gallery, titled “LAUREN MABRY: Fused” debuted ‘dimensional paintings’ that explored the transformative nature of clay.
(2023+) Mabry’s Scrap Yard series produced as part of a fundraiser for her new studio, under construction in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA

LAUREN MABRY

MOREY 2014 - Present

(2014) Crystal Morey began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in 2017 in “The Women”
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 6 years showing with the gallery, focusing on works depicting endangered or extinct creatures and the biodiversity found in their habitats.
(2019) Crystal Morey’s first solo show at the gallery, titled “CRYSTAL MOREY: Venus on the Waves”, displayed sculptures that narrated the interdependence between humans, plants, and animals while cultivating empathy for our changing world.
“Replanting: White Rhino Airlift” (2020), on display in AWTY, was produced in the artist’s Oakland, CA Studio

CRYSTAL MOREY

PÄRNAMETS 2008 - Present

(2008) Kadri Pärnamets started exhibiting at Ferrin Contemporary in “ANDRODGYNY”, at the gallery’s Pittsfield location
(2022-2023) Pärnamets’ latest solo with the gallery, “CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER”, displays her signature biomorphic vases and hundreds of cups
“Are We There Yet?” marks 15 years with the gallery. Work on display in AWTY includes hand-built cups and vases and her “Frame of Mind” series, a collection of small, thought-bubble-shaped figures.
She shares a studio with her partner, Sergei Isupov, at Project Art in Cummington, MA where she produces her sculptural work and teaches clay classes to the community

KADRI PÄRNAMETS

Pincus 2015 - Present

(2015) Peter Pincus started exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary in the 2015 group exhibition “GLAZED & DIFFUSED”
(2018) Pincus’s first solo exhibition with Ferrin, “Channeling Josiah Wedgwood” was a result of direct research into the extensive collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art that informed a series of complex forms based on urns and challices.
(2020) Pincu’s second solo exhibition with Ferrin, “Art in the Age of Influence: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt” began with a series of premises based on the color theories and conceptual instructions of Sol LeWitt inspired by wall drawings
(2023) “Are We There Yet?” marks 8 years with the gallery. Work on display in AWTY includes brand new work of vase forms: “Amphora (Blue & Yellow)”, “Pitcher (White)”, “Vase (Gray & Gold Rim)”, “Amphora Pitcher (Tall Gray & Brown Rim/Handle)”.

PETER PINCUS

Scott 2013 - Present

(2013) Paul Scott began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in the New York Ceramics and Glass Art Fairs
(2013) Scott’s first piece shown was “Cumbrian Blue(s), Sellafield No: 9”, a transfer print collage on Royal Worcester bone china platter with gold luster
“Are We There Yet?” marks 10 years with the gallery. Work on display in AWTY includes “Cumbrian Blue(s), New American Scenery, Posy Vases, Set of Five” which feature decal images from Paul’s 5 primary series which examine themes or ongoing crises in the United States.
(2012-2019) With his primary studio in Cumbria, UK, Paul Scott was also a resident artist at Project Art in Cummington,MA
(2023+) Scott’s extensive body of work called “New American Scenery”, currently touring in the US & England in multiple locations

PAUL SCOTT

SHAPIRO 2000 - Present

(1986) Mark Shapiro moves to Western Massachusetts to begin Stonepool Pottery in Worthington, MA, creating artwork and presenting workshops in his studio and at Project Art in Cummington, MA.
(2000) “Are We There Yet?” marks 23 years showing with the gallery, first in “TEAPOTS TRANSFORMED” & at Ferrin Gallery’s multiple locations
(2006) Mark founded the Hilltown Six Pottery Tour with five other area potters. The pottery tour is in its 17th year, and runs the last week every July.
Shapiro has been instrumental in mentorship and legacy projects, including working with apprentices (Apprenticelines), museums, and his local community in programs like POW (Pots on Wheels) a mobile gallery/project space

MARK SHAPIRO

SIKORA 2000 - Present

(2000) Linda Sikora began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery at the SOFA, NY Art Fairs
(2020) Nature/Nurture group exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary presented her first conceptual artwork with Ferrin Contemporary: “Faux Wood Ground”, (produced in 2014-18)
(2021) Selections from “Faux Wood Group”, 2021, are acquired by Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
In addition to exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary for 23 years, Linda Sikora is a Professor of Ceramic Art at Alfred University in Alfred, NY.
(2023) “Are We There Yet?” presents works from her Wood Grain, Blackware, & Redware series first shown in her recent solo exhibition “Linda Sikora: DARKENING GROUND”

LINDA SIKORA

SILVERMAN 2001 - Present

(2001) Bobby Silverman began exhibiting with Ferrin Galley in the SOFA, New York Art Fairs
(2014) Silverman exhibited in “MADE IN CHINA: THE NEW EXPORT WARE”, Ferrin Contemporary at Independent Art Projects, North Adams, MA
In addition to exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary for 22 years, Bobby also serves as the head of the Ceramics Department at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, where he lives and works.
(2021) Silverman presents his brilliantly-glazed, large-scale porcelain tiles which begin as raw clay in China, where ceramic tradition dates back hundreds of years in “Melting Point”, at Ferrin Contemporary (MA) & The Heller Gallery (NY)
(2023) “Are We There Yet?”, includes Silverman’s new work & signature glazed tiles and vases
In addition to exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary for 22 years, Bobby also serves as the head of the Ceramics Department at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, where he lives and works.

BOBBY SILVERMAN

STERN 2014 - Present

(2014) Rae Stern began exhibiting with Ferrin Contemporary in the “Ceramic Top 40”
(2020) Stern presents “Steve Sherry: Not Old Friends But Good Friends”at Ferrin Contemporary in Nature/Nurture group exhibition
(2023) “ARE WE THERE YET” marks 9 years with Ferrin Contemporary. Her work, “A Fugal Arrangement (set of 7 pieces of furniture & 14 lithophanes)” is currently being shown virtually in the exhibition.
Stern’s recent porcelain objects light up from within upon touch and expose hidden lithophanes. The images depicted often portray daily scenes from both her personal archive and through community outreach to people who suffered persecution during WWII.

RAE STERN

SUPERIOR 1979 - Present

(1979) Mara Superior was a founding partner of Pinch Pottery with Barbara Walch, Leslie Ferrin in Northampton, MA
(1980-93) “Are We There Yet?” Marks 43 years showing with the gallery, “A Tea Party” was among Superior’s first shows at Ferrin Gallery, Northampton, MA
(2002) Superior’s first solo exhibition with Ferrin Gallery “Souvenirs D’Italia, Ferrin” opened at the gallery’s Lenox, MA location
(2020) Nature/Nurture group exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary presented “Only One Planet Earth” & “2020/USA/Vote/America” from the artist’s Political & Environmental Series
(2023) “Reproduction Rights” (2023) on display in AWTY was produced in the artist’s Hadley, MA studio

MARA SUPERIOR

WALKER 2004 - Present

(c. 2004) Jason Walker began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery at the SOFA Chicago Art Fairs
(2005) Walker began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery in “The Navigators: Art + Science + History + Travel” exhibition at the gallery’s Lenox, MA location
“Are We There Yet?” Marks 19 years showing with the gallery
(2019) “JASON WALKER: Personal Encounters” solo exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary presented a body of work that questions our inter-dependent relationship to nature and technology
(2023) “Double Vision” (2022) on display in AWTY was produced in the artist’s Cedar City, UT studio

JASON WALKER

WEISER 2000 - Present

(2000) “Are We There Yet?” Marks 23 years showing with the gallery, first in “TEAPOTS TRANSFORMED”
(2010) Kurt Weiser began exhibiting with Ferrin Gallery in “Re-Objectification”, an exhibition at the gallery’s Pittsfield, MA location
(2016) Weiser’s “Fruit Story” exhibited in “EXPOSED: Heads, Busts, & Nudes”
(2019-2020) “KURT WEISER: Insomnia” solo exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary featured ceramics as well as prints
(2023) “Bug Lesson” (1994) on display in AWTY, showcases Weiser’s signature china painting on works produced in the artist’s Phoenix, AZ studio

KURT WEISER

PRESS

ARE WE THERE YET? | PRESS RELEASE | 6.29.2023

ARE WE THERE YET? | FEATURED IN RURAL INTELLIGENCE | 7.10.2023

ARE WE THERE YET? | FEATURED IN THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE | 7.29.2023

ARE WE THERE YET? | FEATURED IN CERAMICS NOW | 8.5.2023

PROGRAMMING

• EXHIBITION OPENS •
Saturday, July 15th, 11 am – 5 pm

• LUNCH W/ LINDA SIKORA •
Saturday, July 29th, 12 pm – 5 pm

hosted at Project Art, Cummington, MA
during the Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour

• PUBLIC RECEPTION •
Thursday, August 3, 5 – 7 pm

ARE WE THERE YET? RECEPTION

THANK YOU to our friends, neighbors, collaborators, clients, artists, and family who traveled far and wide to attend the reception for our last exhibition in North Adams, ARE WE THERE YET? It was wonderful to celebrate with 70+ guests, many of whom have been a part of our Ferrin world throughout 40+ years.

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY TIMELINE

Click HERE to View
Ferrin Contemporary’s
developing Archive & Timeline

INQUIRE

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a list of available artworks
copy of the press release
additional information about the artists
details on upcoming events

We would love to hear from you!

Please fill out the form below to inquire or
contact us for more details + lists of available artworks.

Feb

2023

Linda Sikora: DARKENING GROUND

April 22 – June 11, 2023

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams MA

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

North Adams, MA —

Ferrin Contemporary is pleased to present artist Linda Sikora and her new exhibition DARKENING GROUND, a poetic and conceptual look at forms, vessels, and other ceramic gestures. Sikora uses three distinct visual categories—woodgrain, blackware, and redware—which sometimes participate in narrative frameworks such as in the pieces:  ground II; ground III; repose—works at the core of the Darkening Ground exhibition.  In this, Sikora is thinking about the dark as a generative space and time; a landscape for internal, interpersonal, and cultural constraints and realities to shift and realign.

“Blackware and Redware depart from the glazed polychrome WoodGrain (a lyrical, rich and luxurious ‘faux’ surface on crock like pottery forms) by using systems reduceable to the most basic material processes,” says Sikora. “If the glazed work is alchemical, Redware and Blackware are of an opposing bearing: elemental turned forms surfaced informally with basic tools – ‘finished’ only by the heat and atmosphere of the kiln drawing color from the clay– as fire has drawn these same colors forth from earthen clay through all time.”

ground I, or what the artist calls “a compost of drawn lines” is a wall drawing that brings up ideas around the density of darkness and what gets lost or found in the fecund and fertile heaps. ground II is referred to as “a fairy tale.”

In fairy tales, darkness is a necessary rite of passage to obtain wisdom and move into a new stage of life. The deep forest under a starless dark sky is the transformative darkness of fairy tales. ground III or “a broken box” is a resolution of sorts, necessary and transitory objects that are found after searching grounds I & II.

The audience actions surrounding these grounds are also part of the conceptual thinking about transition from one ground to another, which can be viewed as moving from one stage of initiation or understanding to another or one landscape to another. “The water pot, storage jar, broken box, cut sticks are both synchronous and asynchronous with their embedded actions: holding, pouring, opening, collecting, hiding. Forms in situ and in relation to the body are the genesis of actions: bowing the head, bending down, looking into, reaching, taking hold of, bearing, or passing by entirely,” said Sikora.

Linda Sikora: DARKENING GROUND

AT FERRIN CONTEMPORARY | April 22 – June 11, 2023

Linda Sikora: DARKENING GROUND, installation view, 2023. Photo by John Polak.

PAST PROGRAMMING

Exhibition Opening | Saturday, April 22, 12pm ET

Online Conversation w/ Linda Sikora & Mark Shapiro | Wednesday, May 24, 12pm ET

Closing Reception w/ Linda Sikora | Thursday, June 8, 5pm-7pm

Lunch with Linda Sikora during the Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour | Saturday, July 29, 1-2pm ET

Conceptual Works

Ground I, or what Sikora calls “a compost of drawn lines” is a wall drawing that brings up ideas around the density of darkness and what gets lost or found in the fecund and fertile heaps. Ground II is referred to as “a fairy tale.” In fairy tales, darkness is a necessary rite of passage to obtain wisdom and move into a new stage of life. The deep forest under a starless dark sky is the transformative darkness of fairy tales. Ground III or “a broken box” is a resolution of sorts, necessary and transitory objects that are found after searching Grounds I & II.

The audience actions surrounding these Grounds are also part of the conceptual thinking about transition from one ground to another, which can be viewed as moving from one stage of initiation or understanding to another or one landscape to another.

“The water pot, storage jar, broken box, cut sticks are both synchronous and asynchronous with their embedded actions: holding, pouring, opening, collecting, hiding. Forms in situ and in relation to the body are the genesis of actions: bowing the head, bending down, looking into, reaching, taking hold of, bearing, or passing by entirely.” – Linda Sikora

Wood Grain Series

“In the home-space, service, storage, and display are obvious realms for ceramic pottery form to operate. This trio has become a framework for recent inquiries into specific subjects (teapot, kettle, crock, box) and the groupings they generate. I have been using these realms to think more specifically, about what ceramic work in this genre is trying to do. To serve (provide, assist), to store (hold, contain, preserve), to display (present, offer, remind) –are gestures in the world.

To serve, to store, to display are gestures that occur on a small scale: individual, household level. And, they also occur on a large scale: societal, global level. Things and gestures occur in private spaces or highly-visible places. Service, storage and display impact the way use becomes leveraged against (an object’s) appearance and subject to influence how it is valued, it’s relevance or, whether it remains meaningful. Inquiry into these realms also connects to ideas about the household as a space of freedom. Such associations might influence the way we embody or make meaning of complex conditions …like existence or time for example: consider a teapot that is ‘performative’ over a short, finite duration (until the tea is drained), and the storage jar – in which stillness and silence can actively hold for durations longer than a life.” —Linda Sikora, 2020

Blackware & Redware Series

“Blackware and Redware depart from the glazed polychrome work by using systems reduceable to the most basic material processes. If the glazed work is alchemical, Redware and Blackware are of an opposing bearing: elemental turned forms surfaced informally with basic tools – ‘finished’ only by the heat and atmosphere of the kiln drawing color from the clay– as fire has drawn these same colors forth from earthen clay through all time. This series of darkening ware made over the last few years began as a lament – the labor of fabrication, cathartic – the forms still and grounded and basic, literally and figuratively, with surfaces that are rudimentary, obsessive, laborious but casual – behavioral.

The subjects are primary: basin, kettle, jar – wash, drink, hold. As the series unfolded it conjured the mechanized technique of engine turning Western industrial wares (rosso antico and black basaltes.) It came to be that Blackware and Redware stood in relation and opposition to these. It is most productive to consider them as differing beside each other in ‘spacious antagonism’. (Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick)

Blackware and Redware basins and hut shaped jars with wide girth and full volumes are grounded in place; kettles with handles or smaller forms remain easy to engage or put into service. Service, storage, and display are platforms for culture and behavior I have identified and associated, with all my work, over several years. To serve (engage, offer), to store (hold, remember) and to display (make visible) are gestures that are scalable. These gestures occur in close proximity at individual, private, household levels and, they occur on large scale societal levels – engaging, offering, remembering is the processes of seeing – and at their foundation. Far from neutral, meaningfully made objects we live with and evolve with, influence how we pay attention to everything; they influence how we reflect ourselves back to ourselves, and ultimately, how we stretch to know a broader world of conditions that are large and abstract – such as time for example: consider a jar where stillness and silence can actively hold for durations longer than a life.” – Linda Sikora, 2023

MORE ON LINDA SIKORA

View More • HERE •

Linda Sikora’s studio is anchored in the genre of functional ceramics. Service, storage, and display are platforms for culture and behavior that Sikora explores with her work. She commonly refers to her ceramic forms as gestures due to their nature: to serve is to engage or offer; to store is to hold and remember; to display is to share and invite.

Sikora is the recipient of a United States Artists Fellowship and has been recognized for excellence in teaching. Her work was acquired by the Smithsonian in 2022 and featured at the Renwick in their 50th-anniversary exhibition “This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World”. She is a renowned ceramics professor at Alfred University where she maintains an active studio practice and lives with her husband and daughter.

To learn more about the artist, watch the PBS Craft in America documentary featuring her work.

PRESS

Linda Sikora: DARKENING GROUND | Press Release | 3.25.23

Linda Sikora: DARKENING GROUND | CeramicsNow | 5.22.23

PREVIOUSLY ON VIEW

Division of Ceramic Art at Alfred
October 20 — December 1, 2022

Fosdick Nelson Gallery
Alfred University
Alfred, NY

View More • HERE •

Linda Sikora, Division of Ceramic Art at Alfred, 2022, installation view, Fosdick Nelson Gallery, Alfred, NY

INQUIRE

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a list of available artworks
copy of the press release
additional information about Linda Sikora
details on upcoming events

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contact us for more details + lists of available artworks.

Oct

2022

Kadri Pärnamets: CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 to JANUARY 28, 2023

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams MA

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, Dec. 3, 3-5 pm
At Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, MA

“Kadri Pärnaments: CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER”, installation at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA, November 17, 2022 – January 28, 2023.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

North Adams, MA –

Ferrin Contemporary is proud to present a new exhibition about one of our most precious resources, water.

Kadri Pärnamets: THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER features porcelain sculptures, vases, and cups as a meditation on this universal element. The exhibition is open now with a reception for the artist on Sat., Dec. 3, 3-5 pm.

After installing her work in the gallery, Pärnaments stood outside in the rain, looking in on her work. “It’s amazing to me, we all share this substance. Everyone all over the world is sharing the same water,” said the artist whose primary inspiration for this work is rain.

The exhibition features her biomorphic, organic vessel forms. Thinking of herself as a choreographer, the artist explores shapes that connect to water, from cloud to cup. Pärnaments interests range from fragile, natural environments to female identity and this is evident across form, color, and function.

CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER

Ferrin Contemporary | Nov 17 2022 to Jan 28 2023

“Kadri Pärnaments: CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER”, installation at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA, November 17, 2022 – January 28, 2023.

ABOUT KADRI PÄRNAMETS

Kadri Pärnamets works in porcelain using traditional hand-building and sculpting techniques to combine surface and form. Her biomorphic, organic forms provide a means to convey her personal interests ranging from fragile, natural environments to female identity. Her surface treatments feature a range of gesture and expression with either abstract shape or narrative figure painting, inspired by painters from the European Renaissance and Impressionist eras, like Lucas Cranach the Elder and Edouard Manet.

Pärnamets’ work has been shown internationally at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (Tallinn, Estonia), at the International Tea Trade Expo (Shanghai, China), and many others. Since 1996, she has participated in symposiums in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, USA, Norway, and Hungary.

Pärnamets graduated from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia with a BA/MFA in Ceramics. Dividing her time between Estonia and USA, her primary studio is the USA at Project Art in Cummington, MA. She is represented by Ferrin Contemporary.

INQUIRE HERE

SHOP

SELECT WORKS
AVAILABLE IN OUR ONLINE SHOP

CUPS

*Cups by Kadri Pärnamets will be released to the online shop in groups of 10 and will remain online for a limited time.

“Kadri Pärnaments: CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER”, installation at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA, November 17, 2022 – January 28, 2023.

VASES

Kadri Pärnamets, “Blue and White Cloud Vase (2)”, 2022, porcelain, slip, glaze, 10.25 x 11 x 9.5″

Kadri Pärnamets, “Blue Cloud Vase”, 2022, porcelain, slip, glaze, 6.5 x 9.75 x 8.5″

Kadri Pärnamets, “Light Green and Red Vase”, 2022, porcelain, slip, glaze, 11 x 7 x 8″

CLOUDS

Kadri Pärnamets, “Black Cloud”, 2015, Porcelain, Slip, Glaze, 25.5 x 18 x 14″

Kadri Pärnamets, “White Cloud”, 2015, Porcelain, Slip, Glaze, 21 x 17 x 14.5″

Kadri Pärnamets, “Black Cloud”, 2015, Porcelain, Slip, Glaze, 23 x 15 x 11″

Kadri Pärnamets, “White Cloud”, 2015, Porcelain, Slip, Glaze, 20 x 22 x 11.5″

PRESS

Kadri Pärnamets: THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF WATER Press Release 11.21.22

PROGRAMMING

Public artist reception | Sat., Dec. 3, 3-5 pm

Now open at Ferrin Contemporary
exhibition continues through Jan. 28, 2023

PREVIEW EVENT | Oct 1 – 2, 2022

Hilltown Open Studio Tour
at Project Art, Cummington, MA

Kadri Pärnamets, “Cups”, 2020, porcelain, slip, glaze, ~4 x 4 x 4″ (each)

Kadri Pärnamets, “Blue and White Cloud Vase”, 2019, porcelain, slip, glaze, 12 x 13 x 9.5″

Kadri Pärnamets, Cups, 2020, porcelain, slip, glaze, 4 x 4 x 4″ (each).

Kadri Pärnamets, “Blue and White Cloud Vase (2)”, 2022, porcelain, slip, glaze, 10.25 x 11 x 9.5″

May

2022

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT

May 7 to July 9, 2022

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams MA

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

North Adams, MA —

In 2022, Ferrin Contemporary presented new works from internationally renowned sculptor Sergei Isupov. Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT featured new ceramic sculptures presented with both a multi-dimensional, mixed-media wall installation and independent pedestal-based works. Isupov and Ferrin Contemporary have been working together and presenting exhibitions internationally since 1996 and this was the artist’s third solo show in our North Adams gallery location.

This exhibition came 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 family, his father, mother and brother, 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. Now, with his wife, artist Kadri Parnaments and their daughter Roosi, they divide their time between two studios/homes in the USA and Estonia.

Isupov is a master of nonlinear narration. Combined with his unmatched, masterful skills as both painter and sculptor, the resulting works draw from the past and reflect on the present. Semi-autobiographical, Isupov’s intimate narratives interweave poignant representations of men and women, parents and children, shown alongside one another, their pets pointing to the naive sense of security we hold in our daily lives. These works explore individual, interior landscapes and the continually expanding dualities of the self within complex psychological relationships. Intensely personal yet universal, these works in the context of the present day, remind and call upon us to value, protect and preserve the precarious balance we all stand to lose at any present moment.

Isupov pushes the “in the round” idea of a sculpture to its apex by creating a narrative form that is then painted, using stain and glaze, to deepen the story. Like an Eternity pictured here, is a prime example of Isupov’s skill. He sculpts a form that becomes both man ready to fight and another man, or possibly a moon or ghost, in quiet observation. Two couples occupy different landscapes on their journeys, recto and verso of the piece, and their nakedity and or their brightly clothed bodies reveal and conceal their emotional states. Symbols of hope and confusion depicted as decorative shapes feature threatening clouds, caged animals, beams of light. We can’t help but wonder what did, or what will, become of them.

Both of Isupov’s 2022 exhibitions include works in porcelain and mixed-media drawings produced at Project Art in Cummington, MA. Project Art is a former 19th-Century mill building he owns with Leslie Ferrin, Founding Director of Ferrin Contemporary. The space hosts exhibitions, events, workshops, and artist residencies.

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT

Ferrin Contemporary | May 7 to July 9 2022

Sergei Isupov: Past & Present, 2022, Installation View

FEATURED ARTWORKS

Click the icons below for artwork details.
Inquire HERE

Like An Eternity

Sergei Isupov
“Like an Eternity”
2022
porcelain, slip, glaze
13.5 x 10 x 9″

Like an Eternity

Past & Present Installation

On The Way

Sergei Isupov
“On The Way”
2020
porcelain, slip, glaze
58.5 x 38 x 18″

On The Way

Full Moon Addiction

Sergei Isupov
“Full Moon Addiction”
2022
porcelain, slip, glaze
13 x 11 x 13″

Full Moon Addiction

Marriage for the Ages

Sergei Isupov
“Marriage for the Ages”
2022
porcelain, slip, glaze
12 x 11.5 x 11″

Marriage for the Ages

Momentary Darkness

Sergei Isupov
“Momentary Darkness”
2022
porcelain, slip, glaze
14 x 10 x 8″

Momentary Darkness

Nature is Within Us

Sergei Isupov
“Nature is Within Us”
2022
porcelain, slip, glaze
13.5 x 12 x 10″

Nature is Within Us

ABOUT SERGEI ISUPOV

Sergei Isupov is an Estonian-American sculptor internationally known for his highly detailed, narrative works. Isupov explores painterly figure-ground relationships, creating surreal sculptures with a complex artistic vocabulary that combines two- and three-dimensional narratives and animal/human hybrids. He works in ceramics using traditional hand-building and sculpting techniques to combine surface and form with narrative painting using colored stains highlighted with clear glaze.

Isupov has a long international resume with work included in numerous collections and exhibitions, including the National Gallery of Australia, Museum Angewandte in Kunst, Germany, and in the US at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, Everson Museum of Art, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Museum of Arts and Design, Museum of Fine Arts–Boston, Museum of Fine Arts–Houston, Mint Museum of Art, and Racine Art Museum. In 2017, his solo exhibition at The Erie Art Museum presented selected works in a 20-year career survey titled Hidden Messages, followed by Surreal Promenade, another survey solo in 2019 at the Russian Museum of Art in Minnesota.

INQUIRE HERE

Sergei Isupov Artist Portrait, 2021, Photo Credit: John Polak

PRESS

Ceramics Now
Sergei Isupov: Past & Present at Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams | 5.16.22
View PDF HERE

The Berkshire Eagle
Sergei Isupov’s fire sculpture will light up TurnPark Summer Festival | 6.3.22
View PDF HERE

Sculptor Sergei Isupov creates never-ending narratives for the viewer to interpret | 5.6.22
View PDF HERE

Sergei Isupov: PAST & PRESENT | PRESS RELEASE | 4.20.22

EXHIBITION CATALOG

Exhibition and catalog produced by Ferrin Contemporary staff, catalog layout by Rory Coyne, and photography by John Polak.

Published by Ferrin Contemporary, 2022

Sergei Isupov, Past & Present Catalog, 2022

PAST PROGRAMMING

Public Reception & Artist Talk
June 4, 4-6 p.m. with Sergei Isupov

Sergei Isupov: PROXIMAL DUALITY

May 14, 2022 to October 31, 2022

TurnPark Art Space
2 Moscow Rd, West Stockbridge, MA

Public Firing of Earth & Sky at TurnPark Summer Festival

June 11, 4-10 p.m. at TurnPark Art Space

Learn More

Sep

2021

IN DIALOGUE: Cristina Córdova & Kukuli Velarde

October 16 to December 30, 2021

Public Reception 4 to 5:30 pm
4:30 Conversation with artist, Kukuli Velarde

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams MA

Cristina Córdova, IN DIALOGUE installation view, 2021

In DIALOGUE: Cristina Córdova & Kukuli Velarde Exhibition, 2021

IN DIALOGUE: Cristina Córdova & Kukuli Velarde, installation view

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

North Adams, MA

Ferrin Contemporary presents IN DIALOGUE: Cristina Córdova & Kukuli Velarde. The two artists share several overlapping identities as Latina sculptors working in the figural tradition. Each explores subjects drawn from both their cultural histories and their roles as mothers, daughters and parents of young women documenting their own and their subjects’ generational changes. This exhibition opens simultaneously with MASS MoCA’s Ceramics in The Expanded Field, curated by Senior Curator Susan Cross.

The newest works in the exhibition were produced in 2021 during the pandemic when each artist could focus deeply on major works, uninterrupted by travel; to-date, Velarde’s painting and Cordova’s sculpture may be some of these artists most important and large-scale works.

October 16 – December 30, 2021

AT FERRIN CONTEMPORARY | North Adams, MA

ARTISTS

Cristina Córdova

Kukuli Velarde

Cristina Córdova

Kukuli Velarde

Exhibition Catalog

Exhibition catalog for IN DIALOGUE: Cristina Cordova & Kukuli Velarde at Ferrin Contemporary, Oct. 16 to Dec. 30, 2021. With luscious photos and detailed artist statements, this catalog gives depth and insight into the motivations behind the exhibition and the artworks therein.

October 16 to December 30, 2021 at Ferrin Contemporary, curated by Leslie Ferrin
Catalog features detailed artist statements
Published on Dec 28, 2021

EVENTS

October 16, 4:30pm: Conversation with artist Kukuli Velarde

PRESS

Berkshire Eagle
11.05.21 IN DIALOGUE: Latina artists use clay, female form to explore personal, generational, and cultural identity

Rural Intelligence Recommends
10.16.21 Ferrin Contemporary: Cristina Córdova and Kukuli Velarde

Berkshire Eagle
10.15.21 BE mentions Ferrin Contemporary in coverage of MASS MoCA’s CERAMICS IN THE EXPANDED FIELD exhibition

IN DIALOGUE | PRESS RELEASE | 9.21.21

Jun

2021

MELTING POINT

HELLER GALLERY

303 10th Avenue, New York, NY

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY

1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams MA

June 24 to September 25, 2021

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The Melting Point is the degree when solid becomes soft, eventually becoming liquid and a boiling point is reached. Glaze melts, clay and glass soften, surface and form become pliable. This exhibition surveys a diverse group of artists whose use of the melting point is central to their practice.

Used metaphorically, as the planet warms we are finding ourselves closer to the melting point both physically and socially. In 2020, forces combined under pressure of the COVID virus, politics exploded and nature responded with melting ice, raging fires and extreme weather. Likewise, artists use the melting point as a metaphor in their work to express their political beliefs and sound the alarm using the fragile materials of glass and ceramic.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Ferrin Contemporary in North Adams, MA on the MASS MoCA campus and Heller Gallery, located in the Chelsea Art District of New York City. The co-curators and gallery directors are renowned specialists in their fields, Leslie Ferrin (ceramics) and Katya Heller (glass).

VIEW THE EXHIBITION CATALOG HERE

PRESENTATION at Ferrin Contemporary

“Melting Point” Installation view with Lauren Mabry, 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Lauren Mabry’s “Glazescapes”, 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view, 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Tom Patti (back and center) & Sally Silberberg (front), 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view, 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view, with Nancy Callan (left and left center) & Laura Kramer (right) 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view, 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Amber Cowan, 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view, 2021

Norwood Viviano, “Cities Underwater: Three Sites | Norfolk, Boston, St. Petersburg”, 2019-21, blown glass, vinyl cut drawings, 15 x 48 x 10″.

PRESENTATION at Heller Gallery

“Melting Point” Installation view with Nancy Callan at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Pamela Sabroso & Alison Siegel (left), Raymon Elozua (center), & Nancy Callan (right) at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Amber Cowan at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Morten Klitgaard at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Sydney Cash at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Paul Scott (left), Steven Young Lee (center), & Norwood Viviano (right) at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Courtney Leonard at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Lauren Mabry at Heller Gallery 2021

“Melting Point” Installation view with Robert Silverman at Heller Gallery 2021

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

CERAMIC

GLASS

PAST PROGRAMMING

PUBLIC EVENTS

Receptions

Thursday, June 24, 2021,
5:00pm – 8:00pm
at Heller Gallery

Saturday, July 24, 2021,
3:00pm – 5:00pm
at Ferrin Contemporary

VIDEO | PUBLIC RECEPTION | 7.24.21
exhibit tour and artist talk featuring Sydney Cash, Gregg Moore, Bobby Silverman, Raymon Elozua, Sally Silberberg, and Tom Patti

VIDEO | CURATOR CONVERSATION | 9.15.21
Rising Waters artist talk featuring Courtney M. Leonard, Paul Scott, and Norwood Viviano, moderated by Jami Powell, PhD

SELECT PRESS

PRESS RELEASE | update | 8.30.21

PRESS RELEASE | update | 7.24.21

MELTING POINT in the Boston Globe
8.5.21 Cate McQuaid gives a quick glance at the exhibition in The Ticket section of The Boston Globe.

Arriving at the MELTING POINT in Des tination Williamstown
7.20.21 Destination Williamstown interviews Ferrin Contemporary Director Leslie Ferrin and gets to the historical heart of MELTING POINT.

Have we reached the Melting Point?
Climate change, social injustice explored in ceramic, glass works at Ferrin Contemporary.
7.16.21 Jennifer Huberdeau of The Berkshire Eagle reviews MELTING POINT.

BUSINESS MONDAY: Did people buy art during COVID?
6.28.21 Julia Dickson of The Berkshire Eagle reports on a “difficult but successful” year for Berkshire gallerists.

Jul

2020

ART IN THE AGE OF INFLUENCE: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Art in the Age of Influence is a series of solo exhibitions presented by Ferrin Contemporary during 2020-21 season, considers the impact of artist’s source materials on their artistic process and practice.

Art in the Age of Influence: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt, features new works by Peter Pincus inspired by three of Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings, #340, #422 and #289, as seen first-hand in Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective at MASS MoCA.

Using color theory and formulaic design patterns as points of departure, Pincus creates brightly colored vessels and expansive tile murals. Inspired by Sol LeWitt’s distinctive style, this body of work takes on his influence in their vibrant patterns and forms. LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #422 specifically relates to Pincus’ exhibition centerpiece, a series of 15 large-scale columns that carry colors across the surface of each form which create a large-scale painting when aligned together.

Gallery director, Leslie Ferrin notes “Pincus’ work in this exhibition began during his first visit to our gallery located on the MASS MoCA campus for the opening of a group show, Glazed and Diffused. After a full day exploring Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective, we had an animated discussion of how the LeWitt works related to his creative practice. Like LeWitt, Pincus often begins a new series using a premise to explore various possibilities of form and color within a shared framework.”

Pincus’s last solo exhibition in 2018, Channeling Josiah Wedgwood was also a result of direct research into the extensive collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art that informed a series of complex forms based on urns and challices. Now, five years later, Pincus’s work for this 2020 exhibition began with a series of premises based on the color theories and conceptual instructions of Sol LeWitt inspired by wall drawings he first saw in person in 2014. This body of work includes containers, vessels and wall tiles, each a result of extensive research and technical experimentation.

“There is a big difference between being influenced by and being in conversation with. As an artist and educator, I am eager to acknowledge those who have elevated my thinking through their work, and to consciously engage with influence as a productive, and insightful element of studio practice. This exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate LeWitt’s approach to making as a foundation, from which I can challenge myself to see new things and grow.”

-Peter Pincus

• INQUIRE

Presented at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

July 11 – October 11, 2020

Peter Pincus, ‘Scratch Spin Amphora’ 2020,
colored porcelain, gold luster, 18 x 8 x 8″ (each).

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY Peter Pincus Art In the Age of Influence Installation View 1 2020

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY Peter Pincus Art In the Age of Influence Installation View 4 2020

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY Peter Pincus Art In the Age of Influence Installation View 3 2020

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY Peter Pincus Art In the Age of Influence Installation View 6 2020

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY Peter Pincus Art In the Age of Influence Installation View 2 2020

VIRTUAL TOUR

Artist Peter Pincus narrates this virtual tour of his during a visit of the installation of his 2020 exhibition, presented at Ferrin Contemporary’s gallery on the campus of MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA.

• VIEW ADDITIONAL VIDEOS

PRESS & FEATURES

• DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE

Ceramics artist draws inspiration from LeWitt retrospective

Art in the Age of Influence: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt is on view at Ferrin Contemporary

ONLINE PROGRAMMING

Everson Museum’s Online Classes and Studio Tours, featuring Peter Pincus, Friday, September 11, 2020, from 1-2:30 pm EST

• LEARN MORE

• WATCH THE SESSION

SELECT ARTWORKS

• MORE ON PETER PINCUS

• SHOP SELECT WORKS

Peter Pincus, ‘Scratch Spin Amphora’ 2020, colored porcelain, gold luster, 18 x 8 x 8″ (each).

Peter Pincus, ‘Losing #422 (15 Vessels), 2020, colored porcelain, 18 x 7 x 5″ (each).

Peter Pincus, ‘Losing #422 (Front of 4 of 15 Vessels), 2020, colored porcelain, 18 x 7 x 5″ (each).

Peter Pincus, ‘Losing #422 (Back of 4 of 15 Vessels), 2020, colored porcelain, 18 x 7 x 5″ (each).

Peter Pincus, “Over Under, Under, Over”, 2020, colored porcelain with inlaid slip, 14 x 7 x 7″.

Peter Pincus, ‘Scratch Spin Amphora’ 2020, colored porcelain, gold luster, 18 x 8 x 8″ (each).

Peter Pincus, “A Familiar Kind of Riddle”, 2018, colored porcelain, gold luster, 89 x 52 x 5″

Peter Pincus, ‘Two-Faced Kraters (Pair)’, 2020, colored porcelain, 11 x 7 x 4″ (each).

Peter Pincus “First Star”, 2020, colored porcelain, wood, 20 x 30 x 3″

Peter Pincus, “Jar Drawing #1: Assignments and Arrangements (3 Jars)”, 2020, colored porcelain, 7 x 5 x 6″ (each)

Peter Pincus, “Jar Drawing #1: Assignments and Arrangements (Yellow Jar)”, 2020, colored porcelain, 7 x 5 x 6″

Peter Pincus, “Jar Drawing #2: Assignments and Arrangements”, 2020, colored porcelain, 7 x 5 x 6″ (each)

INFLUENCE: SOL LEWITT

Art in the Age of Influence: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt, features new works by Peter Pincus inspired by three of Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings, #340, #422 and #289, as seen first-hand in Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective at MASS MoCA.

“There is a big difference between being influenced by and being in conversation with. As an artist and educator, I am eager to acknowledge those who have elevated my thinking through their work, and to consciously engage with influence as a productive, and insightful element of studio practice. This exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate LeWitt’s approach to making as a foundation, from which I can challenge myself to see new things and grow.” -Peter Pincus

• MORE ON SOL LEWITT

Sol LeWitt | Wall Drawing 422, November 1984

Sol LeWitt (B. 1928, Hartford Connecticut)

Wall Drawing 422, November 1984

The room (or wall) is divided vertically into fifteen parts. All one-, two-, three-, and four-part combinations of four colors, using color ink washes.

Color ink wash

On display in the exhibition Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective

• MORE ON WALL DRAWING 422

Sol LeWitt | Wall Drawing 289, January 1978

Sol LeWitt (B. 1928, Hartford Connecticut)

Wall Drawing 289 (Detail: fourth wall only), January 1978

A 6-inch (15 cm) grid covering each of the four black walls. White lines to points on the grids. Fourth wall: twenty-four lines from the center, twelve lines from the midpoint of each of the sides, twelve lines from each corner. (The length of the lines and their placement are determined by the drafter.)

White crayon lines and black pencil grid on black wall

Whitney. Museum of American Art, New York, Purchase with funds from the Gilman Foundation, Inc. 78.1.1-4

• MORE ON WALL DRAWING 289

Sol LeWitt | Wall Drawing 340, July 1980

Sol LeWitt (B. 1928, Hartford Connecticut)

Wall Drawing 340, July 1980

Six-part drawing. The wall is divided horizontally and vertically into six equal parts. First part: On red, blue horizontal parallel lines, and in the center, a circle within which are yellow vertical parallel lines; second part: On yellow, red horizontal parallel lines, and in the center, a square within which are blue vertical parallel lines; third part: On blue, yellow horizontal parallel lines, and in the center, a triangle within which are red vertical parallel lines; fourth part: On red, yellow horizontal parallel lines, and in the center, a rectangle within which are blue vertical parallel lines; fifth part: On yellow, blue horizontal parallel lines, and in the center, a trapezoid within which are red vertical parallel lines; sixth part: On blue, red horizontal parallel lines, and in the center, a parallelogram within which are yellow vertical parallel lines. The horizontal lines do not enter the figures.

Red, yellow, blue crayon on red, yellow and blue wall

On display in the exhibition Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective

• MORE ON WALL DRAWING 340

Apr

2020

NATURE/NURTURE

2021 | NATURE/NURTURE II

NCECA 2021 Virtual Conference
Rivers, Reflections, and Reinvention
March 17, 2021 – March 21, 2021

Gallery Presentation
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams
March 17, 2021 – May 29, 2021

In March 2020 we invited a group of women artists to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their creative practice. This year, Nature/Nurture returns with new additional works as a virtual exhibition at NCECA’s first virtual conference, with select works on view at Ferrin Contemporary.

Opening Reception

March 19, 2021 @ 7pm on Zoom

Shop Select Works

Select works available on our Online Store.
Inquire for additional works.

NATURE/NURTURE, Gallery Installation presented in 2020 at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, March 4 -June 27, 2020.

Artists Include:

Cristina Córdova
Giselle Hicks
Lauren Mabry
Anina Major
Crystal Morey
Kadri Pärnamets
Linda Sikora
Sally Silberberg
Rae Stern
Mara Superior
Tricia Zimic

Cristina Córdova, ‘Altar’, 2019, ceramic and photograph installation, 83 x 75 x 82″.

Giselle Hicks, “Group of Vessels”, 2019, stoneware, glaze, 21 x 60 x 8″, 2′ x 5′.

Lauren Mabry, “Glazescape 20.03″, 2020, earthenware, slip, glaze, 12.5 x 9 x 3.5”, view 3.

Lauren Mabry, “Cylinder 20.10″, 2020, earthenware, slip, glaze, 7.25 x 8.5 x 8.5”.

Lauren Mabry, “Cylinder 20.01″ 2020, earthenware, slip, glaze, 8 x 8 x 5”.

Lauren Mabry, ‘Cylinder 20.03’ 2020, earthenware, slip, glaze, 8 x 9 x 9″.

Lauren Mabry, “Glaze Flow Blocks 20.02″, 2020, earthenware, slip, glaze, 11.5 x 9 x 11.75”

Anina Major, “Hybrid Gourd”, 2019, stoneware, glaze, 18 x 18 x 14″.

Crystal Morey, “Three Graces” 2019, hand-sculpted porcelain, 19 x 10 x 8″.

Kadri Pärnamets, “Moor” 2019, porcelain, slip, glaze, 8 x 9 x 6″.

Kadri Pärnamets, ‘Noon Dance’ 2019, porcelain, slip, glaze, 8.5 x 9 x 4.5″

Kadri Pärnamets, “Sultry Night” 2019, porcelain, slip, glaze, 6 x 10.5 x 5.5″.

Kadri Pärnamets, “Waggle Dance”, 2019, porcelain, slip, glaze, 11.5 x 6.5 x 6″.

Linda Sikora, “Bucket Jar”, 2019, porcelain, underglaze, salt glaze, 11 x 10.5 x 10.5″

Linda Sikora, “Tall Cylinder Jar”, 2019, porcelain, underglaze, salt glaze, 11 x 7.5 x 7.5″

Linda Sikora, “Low Cylinder Box”, 2019, porcelain, underglaze, salt glaze, 6 x 8 x 8″

Linda Sikora, “Dome Jar”, 2019, porcelain, underglaze, salt glaze, 12.5 x 9.5 x 9.5″

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Sally Silberberg, 2020.

Sally Silberberg, “Black Striae”, 1988-2019, porcelain, enameled wooden base, 11 x 16.5 x 17″.

Sally Silberberg, “Blue Striae”, 1988-2019, porcelain, enameled wooden base, 15 x 12 x 12.5″.

Rae Stern, “Steve Sherry: Not old friends but good friends” 2019, unglazed porcelain, digital components, LED light, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, 3D printed TPU filament, vintage furniture.

Mara Superior, “Isolation Creation”, 2020, English porcelain, cobalt oxide, gold luster, glaze, 12.75 x 16.5 x 1.25″

Mara Superior, “Shelter in Place”, 2020, English porcelain, cobalt oxide, gold luster, glaze, 7.5 x 9.5 x .75″

Mara Superior, “A Pair of Seeing Eyes”, 2020, English porcelain, ceramic oxides, gold luster, glaze, 4 x 18 x .75″

Mara Superior, “Only One Planet Earth”, 2019, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf, 16 x 16 x 1.5”.

Tricia Zimic, “Tiger Trade” & “Greed”, 2016-2018, installation view.

Tricia Zimic, “Greed”, 2016, porcelain and glaze, 9 x 12.5 x 8″.

Tricia Zimic, “Diligence/Kintsugi”, 2021, porcelain, graphite, 15.5″ x 11.5″ x 11.5″

2020 | NATURE/NURTURE

1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams
March 4 – June 27, 2020

Ferrin Contemporary is pleased to present Nature/Nurture, a group exhibition of twelve contemporary female artists invited to explore the influence of gender and its impact on their practice.

This timely exhibition explores these ideas that range from direct interpretations of the natural world to more abstract notions, such as the construction of gender and the endowed role of women within their personal and professional careers. Works in clay range in form from individual vessels to composed still lifes and figural and abstract sculpture.

Gallery director Leslie Ferrin chose a group of twelve female artists whose works and careers provide a range of diverse perspectives related to age, cultural identity and work being done in contemporary ceramics. Considering the impact that the #MeToo movement is having on all professions, Ferrin asked the artists to pause and reflect on the role gender plays in their artistic practice and to consider the nurturing experiences that have shaped them.

Ferrin writes, “A renewed awareness and galvanizing commitment for change is surging through American cultural and academic institutions, organizations and businesses of every sort, exposing the crying need for structural change; specifically, the advancement of equality for artists of all genders and elimination of sexual harassment, wage discrimination and other forms of sexism that continue to affect the lives of women, transgender and non-binary individuals. As part of the movement to reverse and rebalance with new priorities and opening doors, it is crucial to offer opportunities to artists who have been historically marginalized.”

Nature assigned these artists, who identify as female, on a given path, whereas nurture is an accumulation of experiences, influences and impact with both positive and negative results on personal and professional lives. Seen as a whole, this group of twelve women artists who live and work throughout the USA, is representative of the rising tide of professional opportunities for women artists. While significant earnings and advancement gaps remain, a course correction is underway through the increasing number of gender and culturally specific exhibitions. As priorities shift for museum collections, educational public programming and private collectors, these efforts to course-correct are bringing recognition to artists previously overlooked and undervalued and to undocumented legacies. Nature/Nurture seeks to contribute to and further this recognition.

Inspired by the important work of Judith Butler and Helen Longino, the artists in the show were invited to explore the influence of ‘Nature/Nurture’ within their practice. The work ranges from more direct interpretations of the natural world, to more abstract notions, such as the construction of gender, and endowed role of women.

“Possibility is not a luxury; it is as crucial as bread.”
― Judith Butler, Undoing Gender, 2004

PRESS & FEATURES:

Download the Press Release

Read Nature of Nurturing | Newsletter Series “On Nurturing” by Artists and Director

Artsy, Beautiful Bizarre, THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE, WAMC, and The Rogovoy Report

ONLINE PROGRAMMING:

ZOOM/ONLINE PROGRAM | Women in Ceramics with Garth Johnson at Everson Museum of Art – Friday, May 15, 2020.

Learn More & Watch the Video Recording

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, with Anina Major, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Kadri Parnamets, Mara Superior, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Crystal Morey, Mara Superior, Kardi Parnamets, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Rae Stern and Linda Sikora, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Linda Sormin, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Sally Silberberg, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Giselle Hicks and Tricia Zimic, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, Tricia Zimic and Giselle Hicks, 2020.

“Nature/Nurture” Installation View, 2020.

Nature/Nurture – Ferrin Contemporary from Great Sky Media on Vimeo.

MORE ON THE ARTISTS

Cristina Córdova
Giselle Hicks
Lauren Mabry
Anina Major
Crystal Morey
Kadri Pärnamets
Linda Sikora
Sally Silberberg
Linda Sormin
Rae Stern
Mara Superior
Tricia Zimic

Cristina Córdova, Artist Portrait, 2018.

Anina Major, Artist Portrait.

Crystal Morey, Artist Portrait, 2019.

Kadri Pärnamets, Artist Portrait, 2019.

Sally Silberberg, Artist Portrait, 2020, Photo Credit John Polak.

Linda Sikora, Artist Portrait.

Mara Superior, Artist Portrait, 2020

Rae’ut Stern, Artist Portrait, photo by T. Maxwell Wagner.

Tricia Zimic Artist Portrait

Mar

2020

KURT WEISER: Insomnia

KURT WEISER: Insomnia

November 23 – January 4, 2020

Ferrin Contemporary presents KURT WEISER: Insomnia, showcasing a distinct black and white palette which unites ceramics vessels and large-scale prints. Exploring the last 30 years of the artist’s private sketchbooks, the highly detailed narratives explore myth, history and the natural world. The diverse media also serves to create a dialogue that bounces back and forth between materials, exploring the familiar world in a new light.

Black and White 1 & Black and White 2 have taken particular cues from classical Chinese iconography, incorporating the notion of the “reserve” or an area that remains intentionally blank in order to support an area that is highly detailed. This on/off switch that Weiser has adopted allows the image to breathe and almost float within the three-dimensional vessel forms.

Ferrin states “While most visual artists use drawing in their practice as a road map to a finished work, Kurt compulsively draws as part of his daily and often nightly life. His process of filling sketchbooks populated with repeating characters, expressions, objects and non-specific, organic forms provides an outlet for images and ideas that flood his mind. Through this practice, he perfects compositions that are later drawn upon for highly, detailed, colorful china paintings on porcelain. The monochromatic palette frees him to explore these images in a meditative way while the process of lino cutting and using a pen filled with liquid china-paint (and coca cola) formalizes the process. The result is a dense, graffiti style pattern that fills the page and surrounds the forms providing endless paths to visually wander and ask “what was he thinking?”

Kurt Weiser’s ceramic work draws inspiration from rich evocations of plant life to narratives derived from myth and history, placed into highly detailed tropical landscapes. These images are meticulously painted onto porcelain teapots, globes and other vessels. As Weiser notes, “the painting is the three-dimensional reality”.

His most recent body of work includes linoleum-cut prints, inspired by decades of drawings from his sketchbooks. He has paired these prints with black and white vessels, relying on his graphic and fantastical style as the means for relating these rich narratives.

Weiser explains “It is a surrealist approach to take the conscious mind out of the equation and let the hand lead the way.”

Weiser has shown internationally and throughout the United States, including Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser his career survey, curated by Peter Held for the Ceramic Research Center at ASU that traveled to eight venues including Bellevue Art Museum, (Bellevue, WA), Montgomery Museum of Art (Montgomery, AL) and the Holter Museum of Art (Helena, MT).

Weiser’s work can be found in the public collections of the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, Tempe, Arizona; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York; the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina; Newark Museum of Art, Newark, New Jersey; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; Museum of Contemporary Ceramics, Shigaraki, Japan; Helsinki Museum of Applied Arts, Helsinki, Finland; National Museum of History, Republic of China, Taipei, Taiwan, among others.

KURT WEISER: Insomnia will be shown at the Undinotti Museum of Figurative Art in Paradise Valley, Arizona March 8 – April 12, 2020.

Udinotti Museum of Figurative Art
6511 East McDonald Drive and Udonotti Way
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Opening Sunday, March 8, 2-4 pm
March 8 – April 12, 2020

http://www.udinottimuseumoffigurativeart.org/index.html

DOWNLOAD Press Release

More about KURT WEISER