Norman Rockwell’s illustrations with their “armies of perfectly imperfect girls” never resonated with artist Niki Johnson, a member of the “Atari 2600” generation, as they peered at her from porcelain commemorative plates that seemed to be everywhere during her youth — the pages of magazines, television screens, the walls of middle America’s homes.
And yet, some 30 years later, she would begin purchasing these commemorative plates, at thrift stores for just a few dollars each, tucking them away for a moment that felt right, for a project yet unrealized. Over a decade, she would amass a collection of a few hundred Rockwell plates, along with dozens of other motifs and designs featuring American landscapes, playing children, churches and historical landmarks, flora and fauna.
“And while his basic premise of defining nature is still running throughout this new body of work, Walker is push ing his own boundaries with each piece…” –Huberdeau
Group show of contemporary artists who are breathing new life into the ceramic medium by reinvigorating age-old motifs, processes, and techniques. In 2017, artists were invited to respond to and produce new works that reference the art, objects, and social history of the collections.
at NCECA Conference
Convention Center Ballroom B
Thursday, March 15, 9am–12pm
Friday, March 16, 1–4pm
“I will demonstrate the construction of a large scale torso through the use of slabs. Utilizing proportional references the building strategy will involve developing individual elements that will later stack into a four- to five-foot-tall piece.”
ONGOING: CRISTINA CÓRDOVA: JUNGLA
solo exhibition at Alfred University Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred, NY
NCECA National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts, annual conference is in Pittsburgh, PA. Each year the host city provides collectors and artists the opportunity to see regional museum collections, explore established and pop-up galleries and meet up with colleagues. The exhibitions of ceramic sculpture and studio pottery are mounted throughout the city and provide an opportunity to survey current trends and discover young artists.
Nov 12, 2017—Feb 25, 2018
Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA
Ferrin Contemporary artists Sergei Isupov, Jason Walker, Kurt Weiser, and Beth Lipman are among the diverse group of fifty-seven artists interpreting the Sabbath — the day of rest — from their own unique perspectives and engaging with its contemporary relevance. All work is three-dimensional as artists explore the theme through ceramic, wood, and glass.
PENN STATE NEWS: JASON WALKER INVITED ARTIST AT KOREAN CERAMIC FESTIVAL
Tammy Hosterman reports in the PENN State News:
Alumnus Jason Walker an invited artist at prominent Korean ceramic festival
May 23, 2017
Penn State alumnus Jason Walker is an invited artist in “Story Telling: About Life” at the ninth Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale (GICB) 2017 in Korea, presented by the Korea Ceramic Foundation. The exhibition began April 22 and runs through May 28 at the Icheon World Ceramics Center in Icheon Cerapia, Gyeonggi province.
“It is a great honor to be a part of this exhibition,” said Walker, who earned his master of fine arts degree in 1999. “I was invited to the event in 2003 to demonstrate and lecture. When I visited at that time I did not realize how celebrated ceramics is in South Korea. I have dedicated my life to making my ceramic work, and I feel very fortunate to have this kind of recognition.” More.
C-File 9-23-15
Jason Walker’s Illustrated Surfaces and Forms Reviewed by Anthony Stellaccio
Since his emergence, Walker has remained in the top tier of a group of artists who have defined a sub-genre of ceramic art with expert optical play between illustrated surface and form. The provenance of this prominence began with thrown and slipcast elements assembled into compact objects based on domestic functional forms. Read more, see more…
“In some very essential way, the same heady mixture of keen observation and self-awareness that nourished the spirits of America’s Transcendentalist explorers, artists, and naturalists also defines Walker.” from “Impenetrable Ambiguities, The Illustrated Sculpture of Jason Walker” by Anthony E. Stellaccio in Ceramics Monthly Sept 2013.
“Through his painted porcelain sculptures, Jason Walker asks us to ponder technology, wilderness, and our place in the world.” from “The Nature of Invention” by Joyce Lovelace in American Craft Magazine Aug-Sept 2012.
Jason Walker’s two solo exhibitions are on view in Bellingham, Wash., and Pittsburgh, featuring recent constructions and selected individual sculptures from private collections. Walker is known for his use of painting on sculptural ceramic forms that explore the relationship between man and nature. Walker will discuss his work at both locations with gallery talks and workshops in the coming weeks.
“Jason Walker: On the River, Down the Road” at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash., uses site-constructed installations to transform the gallery into an enveloping, fantasy-driven world. Through richly detailed narratives and surrealist, apocalyptic imagery, Walker offers an incisive comment on the indelible impact of humanity upon the natural landscape.
“For more than a decade, Jason Walker has been delighting our sense of beauty with exquisite ceramic works that offer a seamless combination of sculpture and painting, form and decoration… Treading a fine line between clever storytelling and sociological critique, Walker’s sculptures play with a psychological state of uneasiness that draws us in to observe and question our relation to nature in the present day.” — Stefano Catalani, Director of Art, Craft, & Design, Bellevue Arts Museum
Walker and gallerist Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Contemporary will present a gallery talk and slide show titled “Made in China: Jason Walker in Conversation with Leslie Ferrin” on Friday, Feb. 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Bellevue Arts Museum. In addition to a discussion of the stories behind Walker’s work, the two will focus on how he has used porcelain tile produced in China as a starting point for works in the show and how he fits into this new movement of Western artists working in China. Space is limited to 25. RSVP online at www.bellevuearts.org/calendar/event/02_27_made_in_china.html
The show opened in October 2014 and remains on view through March 1, 2015.
At the Society of Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, Walker is one of three artists with solo exhibitions in “Bridge 13,” which opened Jan. 24. On view through Aug. 22, Walker’s show features painted porcelain sculptures that depict the intersecting world where nature and technology meet. Painting on sculptures of woodland animals, Walker focuses on the landscape at the point where industrial elements impose on and merge into shared environments.
“A growing number of artists tread warily along the boundaries of culture and nature as the human footprint becomes increasingly obvious and inescapable, and the ironies multiply. … Walker’s work is a form of public prayer for our safety and preservation. How fortunate and useful it is that the sculptures are also beautiful.” — William L. Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nev
Walker will present an artist talk on Thursday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Museum of Art theater in Pittsburgh. He will discuss the way technology has changed our perceptions of nature and how he combines animal imagery with industrial elements to convey these ideas.
On Saturday, April 18, from 1 to 4 p.m., at his exhibition at SCC, Walker will discuss the works in the show followed by a hands-on workshop in SCC’s studio, giving participants a chance to try making ceramic objects.
Both the Pittsburgh events are part of a “Weekend with Jason Walker,” which runs Thursday through Saturday, April 16 to 18 in Pittsburgh. Other events include a studio visit with ceramic artist Edward Eberle, a tour of the ceramic collection at Carnegie Museum of Art with Rachel Delphia, Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the museum, and a guided house tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Details about the weekend and accommodations can be found at https://ferrincontemporary.com/portfolio-items/bridge13-jason-walker-scc/
Walker has long used his exquisite drawing skills and ability to manipulate clay to push his ceramic forms past the decorative into clear and striking social commentary. Treading a fine line between storytelling and social criticism, Walker’s work explores the human experience as reflected in Nature. His painted porcelain works, often taking the form of wild animals domesticated by industry, are simultaneously thought-provoking and unsettling.
Catalogs for both exhibitions are available from Ferrin Contemporary at https://ferrincontemporary.com/shop/
Jason Walker is represented by Ferrin Contemporary, which specializes in ceramic art circa 1950 to the present. For more than thirty years, Ferrin Contemporary has been the preferred source for artwork by established and emerging artists and designers whose primary medium is clay, for private collectors, institutions, and the media. www.FerrinContemporary.com
Published by the Society of Contemporary Craft in conjunction with his exhibition “Bridge 13: Jason Walker.”
The brochure includes biographical information, images, and an essay by William L. Fox.
“A growing number of artists tread warily along the boundaries of culture and nature as the human footprint becomes increasingly obvious and inescapable, and the ironies multiply. … Walker’s work is a form of public prayer for our safety and preservation. How fortunate and useful it is that the sculptures are also beautiful.” — William L. Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada
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