Clay is a malleable art medium. With skill, talent, and experience, you can shape it into an endless variety of forms. The 25 artists in Featherstone Center for the Arts’ new exhibition, “Currents in Contemporary Ceramic Art,” reflect an immense diversity of expression.
Walking into the stunning show, on view through July 20, can take your breath away. Each piece, whether utilitarian or sculptural, figurative or abstract, draws us in to take a closer look. The exhibition is curated by Jen Gandee, a seasonal resident and ceramic artist, as well as the director of the Gandee Gallery in Fabius, N.Y., which specializes in ceramic art.
George Rodriguez’s large, commanding stoneware head, “Mykyta,” recalls Peruvian ceramics and welcomes us to the show. The title means “unconquerable,” or “victorious,” i.e., a man who has the capability of winning in every field. The head’s piercing gaze beckons us to look about and soak in all that we see. The plethora is extensive, and what follows are just a few highlights.
Gandee’s elegant wares are wheel-thrown and hand-built from porcelain clay. They carry delicate images that she prints on special decal paper using a laser printer. The toner contains iron oxide that, when fired, permanently melts into the glaze. The delicate designs build a bridge between functionality and exquisite works of art.
Vineyard ceramicist Jennifer McCurdy crafts her graceful “Coral Vessel” by carefully carving away portions of the porcelain when it is leather-hard, creating a seemingly impossible yet delicate “vase” reminiscent of lace. She loves exploring structural questions about her work: How thin can the high-fire porcelain be before it collapses in the fire? How much can it be cut away and still maintain structural integrity? How can the structural form be integrated with the visual, as in nature? The piece, which could not hold water, is one of supreme sculptural beauty.
Renqian Yang’s “Balanced Discord” recalls an underwater scene, with seaweed attached to a coral reef, swaying in the sea’s currents. “My work explores the balance between dualities — restraint and freedom … Using hand-building, slip casting, and paper clay, I create fragile yet enduring forms that merge geometric and organic shapes, echoing the tension of structure and chaos,” Yang says.
Stephen Procter creates impressive, monumental pots, typically installed outdoors. Their sizes transform what would otherwise be a utilitarian item into one of statuesque beauty. “As physical objects,” he notes, “they evoke a visceral response, and impart gravity to the spaces they occupy. As beings, they invoke and emanate a beneficent presence. My artistic practice is an investigation and meditation — a quest to understand the mysteries of scale, curve, and volume, and how it is that they carry meaning and move us.”
At the other end of the size spectrum are cups and mugs, which Gandee says are the only art media that you put in your mouth. Chris Gustin’s handsome, irregular-shaped and richly glazed whiskey cups call out to be held. Likewise, simply looking at the rough-surfaced adornment on the bottom portion of Matt Mitros’ cups makes us want to wrap our hands around their bumpy texture.
David MacDonald’s impressive “Reconciliation Platter” features a strong, linear Adinkra symbol, which you can imagine emboldening an African textile. While it hangs on the wall, we can equally envision it as a striking serving dish at a dinner party. MacDonald says, “The principal concern of my art is the articulation of the magnificence and nobility of the human spirit, and a celebration of my African heritage. The material I use is clay. The primary vehicle for expression is the vessel. There exists in the vessel a timelessness and universality that records, contains, and continues the very essence of humanity.”
Mounted on one wall are Jee Eun Lee’s ethereal figures in her “Drift Series: A Dream Within a Dream,” which seem to be free-falling midair. The works were created during the coronavirus pandemic. Lee explains, “I wanted to capture a calm, serene moment or a moment of meditation during our chaotic time. I watched the news every day, and had the feeling of being surrounded by death. Reflecting on the struggles of people around the world, I began to construct gray figures with closed eyes, suggesting a dreamlike, meditative, or sleeping state … I wanted to create a space for viewers to reflect on their own quiet reveries from this chaotic time.”
A large naked woman sits, picnic-style, amid partially eaten apples in Sorrel Stone’s sculpture. Titled “Eve in 2024,” Stone’s contemporary figure is far from the idealized version of Renaissance art, but one who, while anonymous, has a distinct identity. Stone says, “In my large‐scale ceramic sculptures and installations, I explore figurative sculpture as a form of storytelling and placemaking for feminine, queer, and immigrant bodies.”
One of Peter Beasecker’s works is a thick and heavy, half-black, half-white, slightly curved tablet. A seemingly random linear black line drawing is embedded in the white section. It is actually a portrait of Robert F. Kennedy, inspired by his image in the June 1968 issue of Life magazine. Beasecker “drew” the portrait with string, which became abstracted and unintelligible after the final firing. “I find the translation between known and unknown, between actual events and memory, to be provocative territory for another connection to history,” Beasecker says.
A Chinese grain basket initially inspired Errol Willett’s distinguished ceramic basket series. The modern forms emphasize their graceful handles rather than the baskets. “What I like about [them] is how the interior and exterior space are connected at the handle, and how their structure is also their ornament,” Willett says.
Gandee has filled the space with many more special pieces to see. Ultimately, she says, “I hope people can see the commonalities and differences among them, and better appreciate the breadth and depth of the field.”
“Currents in Contemporary Ceramics” is on view through July 20 at Featherstone Center for the Arts. For information about a curator and artist talk, workshop, and ceramic demonstration, visit featherstoneart.org/currents.html.