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: Steven Young Lee Past

Jun

2021

MELTING POINT

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.

Sep

2019

COOL CLAY: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics | Crocker Art Museum

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA

July 21, 2019 — July 21, 2021

From raw textures to meticulous details, to glazes bursting with color, the works in Cool Clay represent one of the most exciting and expansive fields of contemporary art. This exhibition highlights a selection of notable acquisitions that strengthen the Crocker Art Museum’s ceramics holdings in both diversity and scope. These pieces represent the work of influential figures such as Rudy Autio, Jun Kaneko, Tony Marsh, Edwin Scheier, Nancy Selvin, and Akio Takamori, as well as more recent leaders like Peter Olson, Zemer Peled, Brian Rochefort, and Dirk Staschke. Although the artists pursue a great variety of approaches and techniques, each embraces the experimental and playful sensibility this versatile medium engenders. Spanning six decades of studio practice, this exhibition celebrates the ground-breaking achievements of 20th-century ceramists as well as those who today continue to reimagine the possibilities of working in clay.

Read more on the Crocker’s blog, the Oculus, HERE.

Exhibiting Artists:

Anthony Bennett, Claude Conover, Annette Corcoran, Viola Frey, David Gilhooly, Babs Haenen, Matthias Merkel Hess, Anne Hirondelle, Sergei Isupov, Cliff Lee, Ah Leon, Whitney Lowe, Kris Lyons, Calvin Ma, Mineo Mizuno, Steven Montgomery, Peter Olson, Edwin Scheier, Nancy Selvin, Peter Shire, Mara Superior, Akio Takamori, Claudia Tarantino, Cheryl Ann Thomas, Peter VandenBerge,

Learn more about FC Artists:

SERGEI ISUPOV
MARA SUPERIOR

and from the archives:

VIOLA FREY
AKIO TAKAMORI

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020. Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

Sergei Isupov, ‘Lightness’ 2008, stoneware, stain, glaze, 33 x 18 x 9″. Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

Sergei Isupov, “Lightness”, 2008, stoneware, stain, glaze, 33 x 18 x 9″.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020. Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

Mara Superior, “Fantasia Teapot”, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, faux painting, wood, brass pins, 13.5 x 8.5 x 20″.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020.Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020. Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020.Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020. Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020.Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

“Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, July 21, 2019 – July 19, 2020. Image courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum.

Aug

2019

TENDING THE FIRES: Recent Acquisitions in Clay | Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA

August 17, 2019 – April 4, 2021

Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay presents recent additions to Fuller Craft’s ceramic collection. Exhibited works represent a range of processes and conceptual approaches in clay, from Cheryl Ann Thomas’s slumped, coiled sculpture to Jun Kaneko’s painterly “dango” to Steven Young Lee’s deconstructed pot. Figuration also comes into play, with strong examples by Patti Warashina, Akio Takamori, and Tip Toland. Fuller Craft Museum is proud to shine a light on the clay triumphs of these renowned ceramicists while proudly displaying the institution’s recent collecting achievements.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

Richard Cleaver, Claire Curneen, Nancy Jurs, Jun Kaneko, Steven Young Lee, Cliff Lee, Hollie Lyko, Michael Lucero, Lauren Mabry, Beverly Mayeri, Zemer Peled, Peter Pincus, Prudence Piper, Mark Shapiro, Mara Superior, Akio Takamori, Cheryl Ann Thomas, Tip Toland, Patti Warashina, and Malcolm Wright.

Learn more about FC Artists:

CLAIRE CURNEEN
HOLLIE LYKO
STEVEN YOUNG LEE
LAUREN MABRY
PETER PINCUS
MARA SUPERIOR

and from the archives:

MALCOLM WRIGHT

Click HERE for more.

Mara Superior, A Spring Dream (Rabbit Teapot),2008, high-fired porcelain, ceramic Oxides, Underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, 16 x 17 x 6″. Gift of Kohler Foundation.

Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay at Fuller Craft Museum August 17th- May 3rd, 2020

Mara Superior Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay atFuller Craft Museum August 17th- May 3rd, 2020

Peter Pincus Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay atFuller Craft Museum August 17th- May 3rd, 2020

Malcolm Wright, Three Figures, 2006, wood fired brick clay, 13.5 x 8.5 x 6.75. Gift of the Artist.

Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay at Fuller Craft Museum August 17th- May 3rd, 2020

Claire Curneen, “Mary Magdalene” detail, 2013, porcelain, gold lustre, 22.5″.

Claire Curneen, “Mary Magdalene” 2013, porcelain, gold lustre, 22.5″.

Steven Young Lee Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay atFuller Craft Museum August 17th- May 3rd, 2020

Hollie Lyko, “American Standard”, 2018, dremel-erased Syracuse China plate, originally titled ‘Southern Cotton Fields’, circa 1952, 10.5 x 10.5 x 1″.

Hollie Lyko, “American Standard”, detail, 2018, dremel-erased Syracuse China plate, originally titled ‘Southern Cotton Fields’, circa 1952, 10.5 x 10.5 x 1″.

Lauren Mabry Tending the Fires: Recent Acquisitions in Clay at Fuller Craft Museum August 17th- May 3rd, 2020

Feb

2019

APEX: Steven Young Lee, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR

APEX: Steven Young Lee

Portland Art Museum

February 23- August 11, 2019.

STEVEN YOUNG LEE reinterprets work from the Portland Art Museum’s Korean Collection. The museum notes “…at once fascinated by the excellence of these objects, Lee overturns these pristine examples in his own practice—perfection becomes failure, classical motifs become popular characters, and elegance resides with kitsch. They are objects in navigating Lee’s own experience in Korean-American, cross-cultural identity and upbringing.”

Click HERE to see more information on the APEX Series.

Click HERE for more information on the work of Steven Young Lee.

Click HERE to inquire about available works for sale.

Read a review by the Oregon Artwatch

Steven Young Lee, “APEX”, Portland Art Museum, 2019. Installation view.

Sep

2018

CANARY SYNDROME

Canary Syndrome

September 27–November 4, 2018 at Ferrin Contemporary

Ferrin Contemporary is pleased to present Canary Syndrome, a group show featuring recent works by U.S. and U.K.-based artists including Elizabeth Alexander, Evan Hauser, Elliott Kayser, Stephen Young Lee, Beth Lipman, Livia Marin, Paul Scott, Bouke de Vries, and Jason Walker, on view Sept. 27 to Nov. 4. An opening reception will be held at Ferrin Contemporary, located at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, on Sept. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m., in conjunction with DownStreet Art, a program of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ Berkshire Cultural Resources Center. The reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibition, inspired by the saying “canary in the coal mine”, suggests that artists, much like the caged canaries once used by coal miners as early indicators of dangerous gases in tunnels, are hypersensitive to the adverse conditions and forces that jeopardize human existence. Through their artwork, the artists in Canary Syndrome employ visual means to accentuate threats to the health of the environment, culture, and ethics — really, the condition of civilization in general, and to warn of worse things to come.

The now-discontinued practice of carrying canaries deep into coal mines to detect carbon monoxide and other toxic gases dates back to 1911. The phrase “canary in the coal mine” is widely used as an allusion by whistleblowers sounding an early alert for broken systems and dangerous conditions. Al Gore used the phrase in reference to indicators of global warming in his book and film, “An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It”. The planet’s “canaries”, Gore said, are the melting polar icecaps, a result of increasing levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere.

“Ferrin Contemporary is presenting Canary Syndrome as both an opportunity to reflect upon fragile beauty as well as provide inspiration to fellow travelers who are facing an overwhelming sense of antipathy and futility in our world today,” said Gallery Director Leslie Ferrin. “It’s our hope that art and artists will motivate others and help to fuel a societal call to action.”

The diverse and thought-provoking artworks in the exhibition invoke ominous portents and herald a call for change on a global level. The works of Elizabeth Alexander, Elliot Kayser, Steven Young Lee, Beth Lipman, Livia Marin, Paul Scott, and Bouke de Vries explore the concept of the flaw, the crack, the mistake, and the resulting debris, within the delicate world of ceramics and fragile glass.

De Vries’s glass cloud is an assemblage of shards of glass from recognizable broken objects, forming a 21-inch-high mushroom cloud. Kayser uses glaze “blisters” on black cow figurines and Scott repurposes a 19th-century platter with the addition of a photo collage of Houston that memorializes Hurricane Harvey’s rising waters. Alexander, Lee, Lipman, and Marin work with processes that exploit melting, etching, breakage, and erasing to produce metaphoric imagery that is often a harbinger of doom. The artists reference forms and history associated with familiar domestic objects such as plates and figurines, along with pottery shards, to reveal something new, carrying a foreboding warning.

Artists in the exhibition who use imagery to deliver their message include Evan Hauser, whose use of ceramic decal prints of Hudson River School paintings applied to Styrofoam cooler lids, cast in porcelain, reexamines historic and cultural scenes in a contemporary context. Jason Walker explores the consequences of manifest destiny, referencing the inherent conflict between man and nature, with meticulous illustrations painted on porcelain sculptures of birds and fish, which he has combined with cast porcelain machine parts made from gears, conduit, and aerators, and used as formal elements.

“The very act of creating provides these artists with an outlet for the anxiety caused by relentless exposure to contemporary conflicts,” said Ferrin. “They are compelled to address environmental and societal issues through their practice and are sounding the alarm in the form of beautiful and compelling pieces of art.”

For more information about the exhibition and individual artists, see ferrincontemporary.com

Elizabeth Alexander
Evan Hauser
Elliott Kayser
Stephen Young Lee
Beth Lipman
Livia Marin
Paul Scott
Bouke de Vries
Jason Walker

DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE

Canary Syndrome, Ferrin Contemporary, September 29 – November 4, 2018

Bouke de Vries, “Glass Cloud 2″, 2017, 17th and 18th Dutch archaelogical glass fragments, mixed media, 21.5 x 13 x 13”

Elliott Kayser, “Black Milk”, 2018, terra cota, underglaze, feldspathic chips, 10 x 20 x8″

Elizabeth Alexander, Various works in Canary Syndrome

Elizabeth Alexander, Canary Syndrome, 2018 Installation, photo by John Polak Photography

Jason Walker, “Osprey”, 2018, porcelain, underglaze, luster, and concrete, 11 x 14 x 6″

Paul Scott, “Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), The Syria Series No.9”, in-glaze decal collage and gold luster on partially erased broken plate/bowl c 1800’s, 12 x 10.5 x 2.75

Steven Young Lee, “Gourd Vases with Dodos”, 2018, porcelain, cobalt pigment, glaze, 18 x 19 x 10″

Evan Hauser, “The Tide of History: The Oxbow”, 2018, porcelain, digital ceramic print, wood, cement, steel, epoxy, 29 x 34 x 18″.

Beth Lipman, “Lapsed Concession”, 2018, glass, wood, enamel, adhesive, paint, 33 x 30 x 27″

Evan Hauser, “Preservation and Use #3 (Landscape with River, George Hetzel, 1880)”, 2018, porcelain, gold leaf, 62 x 42 x 2.5″

Dec

2017

REVIVE, REMIX, RESPOND

THE FRICK PITTSBURGH

7227 Reynolds St., Pittsburgh, PA

February 17–May 27, 2018

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

In 2017, twenty contemporary artists were invited to respond to and produce new works that reference the art, objects, and social history of The Frick’s collections.

Many contemporary artists are breathing new life into the ceramic medium by reviving and reinvigorating age-old concepts. This reinvention is distilled into the use of 18th-century processes and techniques to create new motifs and the depiction of stories inspired by history — often with a commentary or critique on modern society.

This topic is particularly relevant to the current state of the ceramics and museum field as it answers the questions of how history meets contemporary. How can artists draw on the rich artistic traditions of ceramic history while reinvigorating their relevance in a society that prizes the contemporary? Likewise, how can museums use contemporary ceramic art to illuminate and reinvigorate historic collections? The Frick Pittsburgh is committed to using the voices and artworks of contemporary artists to meaningfully engage our audience and our collections with issues and ideas relevant to the present day. Revive, Remix, Respond is an exciting opportunity to continue that dialogue.

Organized by Dawn Reid Brean, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at The Frick Pittsburgh with Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Contemporary, the museum has invited artists to submit work that is inspired by, responds to, or relates to historic ceramics in The Frick Pittsburgh’s permanent collection. Highlight’s from the museum’s collection include Clayton, the historic Gilded Age home of industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick and its impressive array of fine and decorative arts objects; 18th-century Chinese porcelains purchased by Frick from the collection of J. P. Morgan; and 18th-century French painting and decorative arts collected by Frick’s daughter, Helen Clay Frick.

The exhibition will consider the sources of inspiration shaping ceramics today and ways to keep clay vital in museums, schools, and artistic communities. These ideas directly relate to the organizing theme of NCECA 2018, CrossCurrents: Clay and Culture.

INSTALLATION

Revive, Remix, Respond at The Frick Pittsburgh 2018

Revive, Remix, Respond at The Frick Pittsburgh

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

Chris Antemann
Robin Best
Stephen Bowers
Bouke de Vries
Edward Eberle
Evan Hauser
Steven Young Lee
Beth Lipman
Crystal Morey
Kadri Parnamets
Peter Pincus
Kate Roberts
Justin Rothshank
Paul Scott
Cindy Sherman
Caroline Slotte
Dirk Staschke
Mara Superior
Kurt Weiser

PAST PROGRAMMING

Remix Your Friday Exhibition Preview
Friday, February 16, 5:30–7:30pm

Join us for a happy hour in The Frick Art Museum to celebrate the opening of this exhibition, Be among the first to see this unique exhibition, which features work from established and emerging artists. The evening will also feature gallery talks from exhibition curator Dawn Brean and exhibited artist Beth Lipman.

FEATURED WORKS

Robin Best, “The Knight of the Lions,” 2016, porcelain with on-glaze Xin Cai, 14.125 x 7.875 x 10.25″.

Stephen Bowers, “Flowers Fragment” 2018, white earthenware, underglaze colors, glaze, 8.75 x 8.75 x 1.6″.

Bouke de Vries, “Peacock 1″ 2016, twentieth-century Chinese porcelain bird, eighteenth-century Chinese porcelain fragments, mixed media, 24 x 13.5 x 25”.

Edward Eberle, “Subject-Predicate” 2014, porcelain with terra sigilatta, 28 x 13 x 12.5″.

Evan Hasuer, Preservation & Use #3 (Landscape with River, George Hetzel, 1880), 2018, 62 x 42″ x 2.5″.

Steven Young Lee, “Gourd Vases with Dodos” 2018, porcelain, cobalt pigment, glaze, 10 x 19 x 18”.

Beth Lipman, “Swag” 2003, vitreous china, 11 x 36 x 5″.

Crystal Morey, “Entangled Wonders: Across a Divide” 20187, porcelain, 16 x 9 x 9″.

Kadri Pärnamets, “Mining” porcelian, slip, 20.5 x 10.5 x 8″.

Peter Pincus, “Ewer, c. 1893/2018″ 2018, colored porcelain, 13 x 6 x 5”.

Kate Roberts, “Miss Havisham’s Beauty”, 2015, porcelain, 18 x 12 x 12″.

Justin Rothshank, “Andrew Carnegie Platter” 2017, 20 x 20″.

Paul Scott, “Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), Milking Time After Anton Maude” 2017, scrennprint (decal) on Portmerion porcelain platter, 13.5”x 9.25” (340mm x 235mm). One of an edition of ten.

Cindy Sherman, “Madame de Pompadour (nee Poisson)” Tureen, 1990, porcelain, 14.5 x 22 x 11.75″.

Caroline Slotte, “Going Blank Again” 2016, reworked second hand ceramics.

Dirk Staschke, “Soliloquy #1″ 2016, ceramic, shim, epoxy, 17 x 20 x 15”.

Mara Superior, “Kangxi Period, Qing Dynasty/ A Collection” 2018, porcelain, underglazes, oxides, glaze, gold leaf, 12.5 x 16 x 2.5″.

Kurt Weiser, “Random House (globe)” 2017, porcelain, glaze, china paint, metal, 30 x 14 x 14″.

May

2017

PORCELAINIA: East Meets West

PORCELANIA: East Meets West

November 10–December 8, 2016
Cross MacKenzie Gallery, Washington, DC

EVENTS
Talk and Reception with curator Leslie Ferrin and artist Paul Scott Talk
Sunday, November 13, 2016, 3–5pm

This exhibition presents tradition and identity found in contemporary porcelain. Artists Sin-ying Ho, Steven Young Lee, Walter McConnell, and Paul Scott explore ceramic traditions, interpret identity, and create social commentary in their work reflecting on global consumerism, changing landscape, and cross-cultural exchange.

Click here to read review of “Porcelainia” in Washington Post.

Steven Young Lee, “Maebyong Vases” 2016, porcelain, white slip, glaze, 14 x 20 x 14″.

Steven Young Lee, “Meiping Vase with Scroll Pattern” 2014, porcelain, white slip, glaze, 18 x 12 x 11″.

Steven Young Lee, “Jar with Vine Pattern” 2014, porcelain, white slip, glaze, 19 x 15 x 13″

Steven Young Lee, "4x4 Cups" 2016, porcelain, cobalt inlay, plywood, paint, aluminum, glass, 22 x 21 x 6”.

Steven Young Lee, “4×4 Cups” 2016, porcelain, cobalt inlay, plywood, paint, aluminum, glass, 22 x 21 x 6”.

Paul Scott, “Paul Scott, “Cumbrian Blue(s), American Scenery, Fracked No. 2″ 2013, inglaze decal collage, gold luster on ironstone platter (c.1860?), 8.5 x 1”.

Paul Scott, “Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), American Scenery, (New Jersey) Turnpike No: 3″ 2014, screen print, (in-glaze decal) on Portmeirion platter, 13.5 x 9.25 x 1”.

Paul Scott, “Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), Crooklands Cow in a Meadow No. 3,” 2015, glaze, decal, gold, cow: 5.5 x 8.25 x 1.75, oval platter: 11.5 x 16.5 x 1.5″.

Paul Scott, “Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), American Scenery, Turbine No. 2″ 2015, glaze, decal, gold, c. 1840 green pearlware platter, 15.5 x 19 x 2.25”.

Paul Scott, “Scott’s Cumbrian Blue(s), Grain Silo,” 2015, glaze, decal, gold, c. 1850 J K Meakin ironstone platter, 10.25 x 15 x 1.75″.

Sin-ying Ho, “10.11.1989 Hong Kong” detail, 2010, porcelain, cobalt, decal, enamel, 24 x 14 x 12″.

Sin-ying Ho, “10.11.1989 Hong Kong” 2010, porcelain, cobalt, decal, enamel, 24 x 14 x 12″.

Sin-ying Ho, “East Met West” 2016, porcelain, cobalt, decal, enamel, 20″ x 28″ x 16″.

PORCELAINIA: East Meets West curated by Leslie Ferrin at Cross MacKenzie Gallery

May

2017

GLAZED & DIFFUSED

June 20 – August 16, 2015

View Press Release • HERE •

View Event Press Release • HERE •

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY

1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA

Robert Silverman, “Tirana (inspired by Rana) 2015, 15 x 10′.

Glazed & Diffused, group exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary, 2015

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

Robert Silverman, “Tirana (inspired by Rana) 2015, 15 x 10′.

Lauren Mabry, “Contain or Deliver” 2015, red earthenware, glaze, 11 x 19 x 18″

Glazed & Diffused, group exhibition at Ferrin Contemporary, 2015

Jae Yong Kim, “Donut Madness” detail, 2013, ceramic, lustre glaze, glaze, Swarovski crystals, 57 x 57 x 1.5″.

Linda Sormin, “Just So You Know” detail, 2015, ceramic, glaze, 29 x 33.5 x 21″.

Robert Silverman, “Tirana (inspired by Rana) 2015, 15 x 10′.

George Ohr, Three Vases, “Green & Indigo Large Dimpled Vase with Ruffled Rim” 5 x 5 x 5, “Folded Vessel, Vivid Indigo” 1897–1900, 4 x 4.5 x 4.5″, “Dimpled Brown Vase” 5 x 3.75 x 3.75″.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS

RAYMON ELOZUA

PETER CHRISTIAN JOHNSON

JUN KANEKO

JAE YONG KIM

STEVEN YOUNG LEE

LAUREN MABRY

SARA MOORHOUSE

RON NAGLE

GEORGE OHR

PETER PINCUS

ROBERT SILVERMAN

LINDA SORMIN

TOSHIKO TAKAEZU

BEATRICE WOOD

BETTY WOODMAN

RAYMON ELOZUA

PETER CHRISTIAN JOHNSON

JUN KANEKO

JAE YONG KIM

STEVEN YOUNG LEE

LAUREN MABRY

SARA MOORHOUSE

RON NAGLE

GEORGE OHR

PETER PINCUS

ROBERT SILVERMAN

LINDA SORMIN

TOSHIKO TAKAEZU

BEATRICE WOOD

BETTY WOODMAN

PRESS & PROGRAMMING

View Press Release • HERE •

View Event Press Release • HERE •

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.
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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.

May

2017

THE POTTER’S TALE: Contextualizing 6,000 Years of Ceramics

The Potter’s Tale: Contextualizing 6,000 Years of Ceramics

August 26–May 31, 2015
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, MA

EVENTS
Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 5:30 pm
A Potter’s Tale: Ceramicist Mark Hewitt in Conversation with Critic Christopher Benfey
Gamble Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College
Reception to follow

Click here for more information on this event.

Through innovation and exchange, clay vessels have contributed to the lives of people across the economic spectrum, through time, and around the world. This exhibition highlights the ceramic collection of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, spanning five continents and six thousand years.

Exhibit includes work by Ferrin Contemporary artists Kurt Weiser, Steven Young Lee, Paul Scott, and Sin-ying Ho.

KURT WEISER