Project Tag: Linda Sormin

GLAZED & DIFFUSED

GLAZED & DIFFUSED

1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION


North Adams, MA —

Glazed & Diffused is a survey exhibition focused on a select group of international artists, from George Ohr (b. 1857) to several mid-career artists chosen from the exhibition Ceramic Top 40. These artists use fired clay and glaze pigment to convey abstract content. Their sculpture, objects, vessels, tile, and site-specific installations reveal intended, abstract results using fluidity, abstraction, and color theory.

Spanning eight weeks this summer, Glazed and Diffused will bring attention to the lively dialogue surrounding the dissolution of categorical constraints in institutions and the art market through programming that includes panel discussions, DISH + DINE events and Artist Salons

“Over the course of my career, I have witnessed both the emergence of abstract clay sculpture in the late 1950s and 60s and its re-emergence as a fine art trend fully integrated into contemporary art market.  In 2015 fine artists are regularly creating objects and sculpture in clay alongside their works in painting and various other mediums, and likewise their galleries are mounting solo and group exhibitions inclusive of ceramics.”

“Within encyclopedic museums, the permanent collections and period rooms are offering new contexts for contemporary ceramic art to be considered both chronologically and thematically alongside parallel artwork in all media. The “Dirt on Delight” exhibition presented in 2009 at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, was the important seminal museum survey that ignited interest and marked the moment when ceramics not only garnered the attention of New York’s illustrious art critics, such as Roberta Smith, but also that of the Chelsea galleries who began to focus attention on a younger generation alongside the known masters of the medium — Viola Frey, Betty Woodman, Peter Voulkos, Ken Price and Robert Arneson.

“Dirt on Delight: Impulses That Form Clay,” curated by Ingrid Shaffner and Jenelle Porter, was accompanied by a catalog that included Glenn Adamson’s essay “Sloppy Seconds: The Strange Return of Clay.” Since that moment,  curators have turned their sights towards ceramics in survey exhibitions organized during Pacific Time in California, by Crystal Bridges, the Venice Biennale, and the Whitney Biennial. (In 2014, the Whitney Biennial featured sculpture by ceramic master John Mason alongside younger counterparts who have only recently aligned with the medium.)” – Leslie Ferrin, Curator

EXHIBITING ARTISTS


PRESS & PROGRAMMING


PAST EVENTS


OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, June 20, 4 to 6 pm | Ferrin Contemporary, 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

Meet artists Raymon Elozua, Lauren Mabry, Peter Pincus, Robert Silverman, and Linda Sormin.

ARTIST SALON AND SUNDAY BRUNCH
Sunday, June 21, 11 am to 1 pm | Project Art, 54 Main Street, Cummington

Visual presentations and roundtable discussion with artists Raymon Elozua, Lauren Mabry, Robert Silverman, and Linda Sormin

PANEL DISCUSSION: “CLAY IS HOT! Good Better Best”
Sunday, July 19, 3 pm | 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

Collecting ceramics from George Ohr to Ai Weiwei — Antiques Roadshow regulars Suzanne Perrault and David Rago, along with the consulting producer Daniel Farrell will discuss collecting ceramics made in the late 1800s through today. The panel, moderated by Ferrin Contemporary director, Leslie Ferrin, will focus on provenance, connoisseurship, and values in ceramics.for a panel discussion moderated by Leslie Ferrin about provenance, connoisseurship, and values in ceramics, pottery, and porcelain 1900 to the present.Guests will have a chance to view the exhibition, GLAZED & DIFFUSED, before the panel discussion and afterwards during a wine and cheese reception in the gallery.

DISH & DINE
Sunday, July 19, 6:30 to 9 pm | Ferrin Contemporary, 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

Following the panel discussion and reception, enjoy dinner in the gallery with collectors, artists, and panelists. Gramercy Bistro, MASS MoCA’s in-house bistro, will serve modern fare made from locally-sourced food. Ceramic artist Michael McCarthy will provide the handmade dinnerware. Limited space and fee for the dinner.
TO RSVP  More…

STUDIO AND GALLERY VISIT
Saturday, August 8, 2015 | Kinderhook, New York
Visit Raymon Elozua’s studio in Mountain Dale, NY, and tour of the El Anatusui exhibition at Jack Shainman Gallery: The School in nearby Kinderhook. Trip and transportation organized by Ferrin Contemporary. Limited space and fee.TO RSVP More…

DOWNSTREET NORTH ADAMS
Thursdays, June 25 and July 30, August 27, and September 24, 6 to 8 pm | Ferrin Contemporary | 1315 MASS MoCA Way and throughout North Adams

Ferrin Contemporary and other DownStreet art venues and galleries, stores, and restaurants will extend their hours on the last Thursday of the summer months to celebrate the arts.

 

ARTIST TALK WITH ROBERT SILVERMAN AND CLOSING RECEPTION
Sunday, August 16, 3–5pm | Ferrin Contemporary, 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

Artist Robert Silverman will talk about his inspiration for “Tirana” a featured piece in the GLAZED & DIFFUSED exhibition. Eddie Rama, artist and mayor of Tirana, Albania, who transformed the city with color, was Silverman’s inspiration for this piece. After the talk, join us for the closing reception of GLAZED & DIFFUSED.

CERAMIC TOP 40

CERAMIC TOP 40

SURVEY EXHIBITION


2013 – 2015 | 3-City US TOUR

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION


CERAMIC TOP 40
Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO
presented by Ferrin Contemporary and Red Star Studios
November 1, 2013–January 25, 2014

CERAMIC TOP 40 | selected works
Office for the Arts, Harvard, Gallery 224, Alston, MA
presented by Ferrin Contemporary and the Ceramics Program
May 17–June 27, 2014

CERAMIC TOP 40 | selected works
Independent Art Projects
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA
January–April 2015

Ceramic art is experiencing an evolutionary leap. Economic conditions and technological advances have caused a dramatic shift in the way contemporary ceramics are conceived, designed, produced, and marketed. Ceramic Top 40 is an exhibition that emerged from the need to document this defining time in contemporary ceramics. Taking a snapshot of this pivotal transition provides a look back at recent history, an understanding of these forces of change, and a glimpse into the future of ceramic art.

This survey exhibition features work by individual artists, collaborators, and design partners who are working on the cutting edge of current processes, ideas, and presentation concepts in conceptual utilitarian and sculptural ceramics. They are responding to the external forces of a changing world and, in turn, shaping those influences.

CERAMIC TOP 40 CATALOG


EXHIBITING ARTISTS


CERAMIC TOP 40 ARTISTS

Susan Beiner •  Robin Best  •  Stephen Bird  •  Stephen Bowers  •  Jessica Brandl  •  Andy Brayman  •  Beth Cavener  •  Craig Clifford  •  Mark Cooper  •  Cristina Cordova  •  Guy Michael Davis (Future Retrieval)  •  Thomas Lowell  Edwards  •  Michelle  Erickson  •  Sean Erwin  •  Leopold Foulem  •  Alessandro Gallo  •  Misty Gamble  •  Gerit Grimm  •  Rain Harris  •  Giselle Hicks  •  Peter Christian Johnson  •  Brian R. Jones  •  Ryan LaBar  •  Steven Young Lee  •  Linda Lighton  •  Daniel Listwan  •  Lauren Mabry • Aya Margulis (Doda Design)  •  Walter McConnell •  Sara Moorhouse  •  Ron Nagle  •  Katie Parker (Future Retrieval)  •  Kate Roberts  •  Stephanie Rozene   •  Anders Ruhwald   •  Michael Schwegmann  •  Paul Scott  •  Richard Shaw  •  Adam Shiverdecker  •  Bobby Silverman  •  Linda Sormin  •  Shawn Spangler  •  Vipoo Srivilasa  (The Spoon Project)  •  Dirk Staschke  •  Rae’ut Stern (Doda Design)  •  Emily Sudd  •  Tip Toland  •  Clare Twomey  •  Shaleene Valenzuela  •  Jason Walker

VIPOO SRIVILASA | OBJECT: SPOON  |  Liz Burrit  •  Thomas Cheong  •  Naomi Clement  •  Jenn Demke-Lange  •  Jason Desnoyers  •  Krisaya Luenganantakul  •  Laura McKibbon  •  Noriko Masuda  •  Teo Huey Min  •  Jun Myoung  •  Aaron Nelson  •  Joshua Primmer  •  James Seet  •  Vipoo Srivilasa  •  Jenna Stanton

CERAMIC TOP 40
Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO
presented by Ferrin Contemporary and Red Star Studios
November 1, 2013–January 25, 2014

CERAMIC TOP 40 | selected works
Office for the Arts, Harvard, Gallery 224, Alston, MA
presented by Ferrin Contemporary and the Ceramics Program
May 17–June 27, 2014

CERAMIC TOP 40 | selected works
Independent Art Projects
1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA
January–April 2015

LINDA SORMIN

LINDA SORMIN

SCULPTURES & INSTALLATIONS

LINDA SORMIN

(b. 1971, Bangkok, Thailand, lives and works in New York, NY)

Born in Thailand and raised in Canada, Linda Sormin’s ceramics-based installations explore uncertainty, risk, survival, and precarious and fragile structures. She is attentive to how humans seek stability in the midst of chaos and transition, how transformation occurs during times of upheaval, and how we hold onto the familiar through experiences of migration and change.

Sormin’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including Patricia Sweetow Gallery (San Francisco, CA), CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art (Middelfart, Denmark), Jogja National Museum, (Yogyakarta, Indonesia), Everson Museum, (Syracuse, NY), Bluecoat Art Gallery, (Liverpool, UK), National Gallery of Indonesia (Jakarta, Indonesia), McClure Gallery, (Montréal, Canada), Gardiner Museum (Toronto, CA), the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art, (Bergen, Norway), Denver Art Museum, (Denver, USA), and gl Holtegaard (Holte, Denmark). In 1993, Sormin completed her BA in English Literature at Andrews University followed by a ceramics diploma from Sheridan College in 2001. In 2003, she earned her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.  Sormin is Associate Professor of Studio Art at New York University.

ON NURTURE: RESHAPING RAGE (WHEN REVENGE MAKES PERFECT SENSE)

The intricate hand-work in my visual art process embodies traditional Buddhist practices in Thailand & Laos.  Living in both countries during my 20’s, I joined groups of women who created floral floats & wreaths in preparation for rituals and festivals.  Mounds of fragrant material – orchids, marigolds, jasmine blossoms, bamboo leaves, string and gold leaf – surrounded us as we pieced together objects that offered intricacy, meaning and function beyond the everyday.  My art practice is motivated by sensorial and poetic use of natural and found materials.

I experiment with the use and behavior of ceramics in the context of contemporary life and visual art.  Ceramics is alert and nimble, evolving with the changing needs of cultures and communities. Clay is most familiar as a material used in traditional making.  While deeply respecting these traditions, my curiosity and passion for working in clay spring from the mischief and delight I experience in inviting it to misbehave.

Toying with the rules of craft, I engage hands-on skill as language, subverting “fluency” and “correctness” in making.  I explore the “wrong” way of doing things, striving to decolonize ceramic language – to open up new possibilities for ceramic encounters.

I roll and pinch clay into forms that melt, lean, lurch and dare you to approach. Shards, souvenirs, test tiles and trash are collected into ceramic structures. Nothing is thrown away (this immigrant lives in fear of waste). Old yogurt is used to start a new batch. What is worth risking for things to get juicy, rare, ripe? What might be discovered on the verge of things going bad?

I push clay bodies beyond temperatures they are able to withstand.  In extreme heat, forms twist and slump – upright linear elements sway and “lose” their shape.  In my sculptures, I stop just before structure gives way – pausing at the point between construction and collapse.

Fracture, “unbuilding” and re-situating ceramics are part of my process in creating large scale, site-responsive installations.  Aggressive physical interactions with material and form embody the ways that humans de-construct and re-shape our lives in situations of upheaval, change and trauma.  My sculptures and installations alternately hold and release these points of tension and precariousness.

The title of my sculpture in this exhibition, Reshaping Rage (when revenge makes perfect sense), is drawn from a recent New Yorker interview of Judith Butler.  I am inspired by how Butler talks about rage as something that can be crafted:

“People in the world have every reason to be in a state of total rage. What we do with that rage together is important. Rage can be crafted—it’s sort of an art form of politics. The significance of nonviolence is not to be found in our most pacific moments but precisely when revenge makes perfect sense.” – Judith Butler Wants Us to Reshape Our Rage

The New Yorker, interview by Masha Gessen February 9, 2020

DIRECTOR NOTES ON LINDA SORMIN

“Due to the extended run of Nature/Nurture, we had the opportunity to reflect on paths taken, connections made and shared experiences in our weekly series of FC News & Stories with each issue focusing on an individual artist in the exhibition. The ON NURTURE statements written by each artist acknowledges family, artist mentors, education and for Linda Sormin, a growing context for her work “Reshaping Rage” conceived of and titled prior to COVID19.
My first introduction to Linda was in 2008 when she started teaching at RISD but I didn’t fully understand her work until I experienced it in person when I met her at Greenwich House Pottery to see her solo installation, My Voice Changes When I Speak Your Language. Arriving with deeply held preconceptions of tightly controlled pedestal presentations, my viewpoint was permanently altered by seeing her bold, ambitious and gravity-defying use of the earthbound material – clay.
“Sormin practices the art of the slow burn– both literally… and also figuratively, in that her sprawling installations communicate a carefully controlled fury. It is a vivid, visual chamber music, in which not a single note of pragmatism, didacticism or functionalism can be heard… The visitor is encouraged to wander through this ceramic wonderland as if through an ancient forest.” –Glenn Adamson
We are pleased to announce that Linda Sormin will be included in MASS MoCA’s upcoming exhibition Sculpture and the Possibilities of Clay opening fall 2021 curated by Susan Cross, senior curator.”   – Leslie Ferrin, 2020.

ON HER WORK

Linda Sormin, a leading installation artist, is known for pushing the extremes of material and concept. The large size and delicacy of her work challenge the clay’s intrinsic strength. She combines found and built objects with internal imagery in multiple complex forms. Scale, color, and variety of references expand in her work to create a layered unity made of disparate fragments.

“The site looms above and veers past, willing me to compromise, to give ground. I roll and pinch the thing into place, I collect and lay offerings at its feet. This architecture melts and leans, hoarding objects in its folds. It lurches and dares you to approach, it tears cloth and flesh, it collapses with the brush of a hand.

Nothing is thrown away. This immigrant lives in fear of waste. Old yogurt is used to jumpstart the new batch. What is worth risking for things to get juicy, rare, ripe? What might be discovered on the verge of things going bad?” — Linda Sormin

CERAMIC TOP 40

SURVEY EXHIBITION 2013 - 2015 | 3-City US TOUR ABOUT THE EXHIBITION CERAMIC TOP 40 Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO presented by Ferrin Contemporary and Red Star Studios...