contemporary decorative arts

A Porcelain Menagerie: Mara Superior solo show

A Porcelain Menagerie: Mara Superior solo show

Mara Superior, “Ornithology” 2011.

 

A PORCELAIN MENAGERIE
a solo show of work by Mara Superior
features painted porcelain platters, teapots and sculptures celebrating the beauty and fragility of the animal world. Co-curated by Dana Salvo and Leslie Ferrin.
Clark Gallery, Lincoln, Mass
March 10–29, 2015

Click here to view or download press release.

Mara Superior is known for her contemporary porcelain that uses imagery and form to convey theories of beauty and subtle social commentary. Her choice of porcelain, a medium known for its fragile beauty, is analogous to the nature of the subject of the work in this show — this planet with its diverse environments, the flora and fauna, and the delicate balance that holds them all. Using various forms of plates and constructed forms of teapots and tile relief, Superior creates commemoratives that deliver a message to preserve and appreciate our living world. They are a plea for attention to a world out of control. Porcelain and nature are fragile, breakable, and need careful handling to survive. “Wake up people! Preserve your planet!”

Mara Superior is represented by Ferrin Contemporary.
Click here to see available work.

 

Posted by AxelJ in Press Releases
#ferrincontemporaryontheroad: New York Ceramics & Glass Fair 2015

#ferrincontemporaryontheroad: New York Ceramics & Glass Fair 2015

Ferrin Contemporary spent eight days in New York for the NY Ceramics & Glass Fair in late January. There, we presented two exhibitions: MADE IN CHINA: The New Export Ware and Selected Work from Current Projects, featuring work by 18 artists from around the world.

Visitors and the NY press were surprised and delighted with their discovery of the contemporary ceramics at the New York Ceramics & Glass Fair and spread the word about contemporary clay throughout the worlds of art and design. Here some of the highlights, along with links to read more.

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, “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”.

The New York Times, Art & Design

“Emporiums of the Waggish and Weird”

Browsing at Metro Curates and the Ceramics and Glass Fair

by William Grimes

“A number of contemporary artists disturb the polite atmosphere of British tea sets and Chinese export pottery. Paul Scott, an English artist at Ferrin Contemporary, has updated English transferware, with its romantic evocations of American scenes, in the rudest possible way. ‘Turnpike No. 3,’ a rectangular tray showing a toll plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike, is one of a series devoted to such heartwarming sights as the Indian Point nuclear plant and a fracking derrick,” Grimes observed in his unabashed review of the oddities at two NY shows.

Read more here…

 

Paul Scott, "Cumbrian Blue(s), Willow Italian" 2014, Staffordshire transferware collage, gold leaf, tile cement, epoxy resin, 15 x 11".

Paul Scott, “Cumbrian Blue(s), Willow Italian” 2014, Staffordshire transferware collage, gold leaf, tile cement, epoxy resin, 15 x 11″.

The New York Observer

“Ceramics Crack the Contemporary Art Market”

Breaking the Mold
by Brook Mason

“Few slices of the art market have changed as radically, or, surprisingly, have been taken more seriously, in the past few years as the ever-so-sleepy ceramics and glass sector. … When it comes to contemporary ceramics, some dealers said, there’s a shift going on in terms of validity in the eyes of museums. ‘Glance back two decades only a handful of museums were incorporating such work in their holdings,’ said Massachusetts dealer Leslie Ferrin.”

Read more here…

 

Vipoo Srivilasa, "The Patience Flower" 2014, Jingdezhen super white porcelain, 10 x 6.6".

Vipoo Srivilasa, “The Patience Flower” 2014, Jingdezhen super white porcelain, 10 x 6.6″.

Blouin Art Info

Made in China: Ceramic Exports From Jingdezhen

by Darryl Wee

In his review of our show “MADE IN CHINA, Darryl Wee observes, “Whereas traditional ‘export ware’ used to be adorned with European ideas and subjects…, Ferrin notes that this notion of cultural export has shifted somewhat in recent years due to internationally networked and cosmopolitan artists who produce their pieces at Jingdezhen Pottery Workshop while gaining exposure primarily in Western markets halfway around the world.”

Read more here…

 

Mara Superior, "Wounded Beauty" 2014, porcelain, cobalt, glaze, gold luster, metal wire, 12 x 15 x 5.5".

Mara Superior, “Wounded Beauty” 2014, porcelain, cobalt, glaze, gold luster, metal wire, 12 x 15 x 5.5″.

Past Imperfect: The Art of Inventive Repair

“The New York Ceramics & Glass Fair – 2015”

by Andrew Baseman

Friend and blogger Andrew Baseman focused attention on contemporary ceramic “make-dos” including Paul Scott’s, Mara Superior’s, and Frances Palmer’s mended works. “It was heartening for me to see so many examples of antique and contemporary ceramics with inventive repair in such a prestigious venue. It gives me hope that beauty in imperfection is now being embraced by more artists, dealers and collectors than ever before.”

Read more here…

 

Sin-ying Ho, "9.28.2014 Hong Kong" 2014, porcelain, cobalt, decal, terra sigillata, 23 x 12 x 15.5".

Sin-ying Ho, “9.28.2014 Hong Kong” 2014, porcelain, cobalt, decal, terra sigillata, 23 x 12 x 15.5″.

DXV American Standard

“Yes Virginia, Collecting Ceramics Can Be Hip”

by Lynn Byrne

In her design blog, Byrne admitted, “I know very little about ceramics and glass. There. I have said it right up front. But I like to think I have a certain radar for the artistically innovative, and one place where I did not expect to see it was during my inaugural visit last week to the annual New York Ceramics and Glass Fair. But I was wrong. Very wrong. Talk about cool—it was there in abundance. 
“By far my favorite was the artists represented by Ferrin Contemporary. Leslie Ferrin had two booths at the fair and each was filled with edgy, thought-provoking pieces.”

Read more here…

 

The cover of Paul Scott's  new book, "Horizons: Transferware and Contemporary Ceramics"

The cover of Paul Scott’s new book, “Horizons: Transferware and Contemporary Ceramics”

Lectures and Book Launch at the Fair

Visitors were entertained by talks and presentations made by Ferrin Contemporary’s Paul Scott, Garth JohnsonRobert Silverman, Sing-ying Ho, and Leslie Ferrin. 
NCECA sponsored a day of modern lectures there for the first time.
It was standing room only for Paul Scott’s lecture. Afterwards, the audience followed Scott to a book signing for the newly published Horizon: Transferware and Contemporary Ceramics.  Scott’s ironic commentary on landscape drew media attention with his “American Scenery” series featured at the fair. 

Click here to place an order for your signed copy.

 

Kurt Weiser, "Albion" 2014, china painted porcelain, 26.5 x 18".

Kurt Weiser, “Albion” 2014, china painted porcelain, 26.5 x 18″.

Wait, there’s more

Visit our Press Coverage webpage for more links to fair coverage as well as articles and reviews about other curated projects with work by artists represented by Ferrin Contemporary.

Read more coverage on the fair on:
CFile
AsiainNY
The China Press
NY Social Diary

Robert Silverman, "Blue" 2013, re-fired commercial tile fabricated in Jingdezhen, China, 35 x 27.5”.

Robert Silverman, “Blue” 2013, re-fired commercial tile fabricated in Jingdezhen, China, 35 x 27.5”.

SOLD!  Still available?

Ferrin Contemporary presented two exhibitions at the fair: “MADE IN CHINA: The New Export Ware” and “Selected Work from Current Projects,” featuring work by 18 artists from around the world. In addition to the media blitz, sales were brisk and commissions are still coming in.

Click here to see more available work.
Or inquire about currently available artworks presented at the fair.

Paul Scott stands before his work in “Made in China” booth at NYC&GF.

#ferrincontemporaryontheroad

Follow along as director Leslie Ferrin documents the objects, people, and experiences related to the many projects under the purview of Ferrin Contemporary. Leslie’s first-person coverage provides a subjective overview of the scene (and seen) along the path of her travels. Click on the links below to follow along:
NEWS: Instagram
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Posted by AxelJ in Blog
Jason Walker show at Bellevue Arts Museum reviewed in SeattleMet

Jason Walker show at Bellevue Arts Museum reviewed in SeattleMet

Jeremy Buben of SeattleMet, takes the reader on an insightful tour of the solo exhibition “Jason Walker: On the River, Down the Road” on exhibit at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, WA from October 3, 2014 to March 1, 2015.

Click here to read the article.

Jason Walker is represented by Ferrin Contemporary.
Click here to view his recent and available work.
Click here to find out more about the exhibition.
Click here to inquire about purchasing his work.

 

Posted by AxelJ in News, Press Coverage, 0 comments
SCENE + SEEN: Yale University Art Gallery | Study day with collectors and art professionals

SCENE + SEEN: Yale University Art Gallery | Study day with collectors and art professionals

Sometimes when you’re visiting a collection and there is an impulse to take a photo and share everything  you see, and then there is one object that conveys it all.  Henry Varnum Poor’s portrait of Ben Hecht, has a face that looks like someone I know, maybe even someone I was with.  Donald Clark, one of our archivists and project manager for The Marks Project, joined me at Yale.  This portrait platter from 1926 appears quite contemporary and old at the same time.  One of Clark’s many collections is a grouping of objects in all media that feature portraits of other people who look like him, many of them are gifts.  Yale’s collection is all online 24/7. 

Henry Varnum Poor,Plate with Portrait of Ben Hecht, 1926

Maker: Henry Varnum Poor, American, 1887 – 1970
Gift of Mrs. William R. Scott, John G. McCullough, Class of 1936, and Mrs. William G. Heaphy, by exchange  2004.84.1

POST FROM SCENE + SEEN – Great day at Yale with Patricia Kane and John Stewart Gordon discussing old and new, contemporary and historic decorative arts, new building and integration of the sculpture, paintings and decorative arts at Yale University Art Museum, New Haven, CT, USA.  On view this summer is the Waterbury Collection of Art and through July 14, Society Anonyme, Inc.

Rooftop Sculpture Garden – Aristede Maillol – old + new architecture, view from the roof.

MORE … meet up with John Gordon and Patricia Kane

MORE … Waterbury Collection of Wood Art and other current exhibitions at Yale University Art Gallery.

Posted by AxelJ in Blog, 0 comments