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HENRY FORD AT 21 / 2YEARS OLD / Howard Finster (1916-2001)/ Summerville, Georgia / 1980 / enamel on Masonite / 351 / 2x 43%"/ collection of the Arient Family
SLIPWARE ON DISPLAY Slip, a simple mixture of clay and water,is essential in ceramics, acting as glue. For centuries, however, potters have used it in a decorative way as well, slip being a very versatile method of adding color and texture to a piece. An exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum (414/224-3200; www.mam.org), on view until June 6,explores many of the ways in which artists have dripped, trailed, inlaid, marbled, scraped, and combed slip onto pots to create diverse visual effects.The works in the show are organized to demonstrate the universality of slip decoration, comparing similar techniques on pots made in different places at the same times. Pottery from many countries will be featured, including pieces from China, Korea, Germany,and Italy, though emphasis is placed on British and American ceramics from the 17th century to the present.
CREAMWARE PITCHER WITH COMBED SLIP DECORATION AND APPLIQUES (detail)/ maker unidentified / England / c. 1780/ creamware / 6% x 3/ 1 2 "/ collection of Jonathan Rickard
24 SPRING/SUMMER 2004
FOLK ART
SAMPLER SYMPOSIUM Vassar College,in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.,is holding "'Thanks Be To My Friends': A Sampler Symposium"June 25-27.The event complements an exhibition ofthe same name,on view at Vassar's Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center from June 5 to July 18.The show features samplers from North America, England,and Western Europe ranging in date from the 1690s to the 1830s and selected from Vassar's extensive collection, which serves as an important reference for the study ofboth embroidery and of women's educational history.The accompanying symposium includes a field trip to the Glebe House in Dutchess County,gallery tours, and lectures and discussions about various sampler collections, individual works,and textile conservation. For more information about this symposium or to download a registration form, call 845/437-5907 or visit www.vassatedu/summer.
MIND STORM The Richard E.Peeler Art Center (765/658-6556) at DePauw University in Greencastle,Ind.,is hosting an exhibition ofoutsider art through June 14."Mind Storm: Contemporary American Folk Art from the Arient Family Collection"features works amassed over three decades byJim and Beth Arient. Pieces from the collection on display include those by such notable self-taught artists as William Dawson,Sam Doyle,Howard Finster, Lee Godie,Jesse Howard,James Harold Jennings, S.L.Jones, Carl McKenzie, Elijah Pierce, and Derek Webster.The relationship between artist and collector is another theme ofthis show,with photographs, personal letters and correspondence,and video interviews to complement the artworks on display.
FEMALE ARTISTS AT INTUIT "Sistuhs: Four African American Self-Taught Artists," at Intuit:The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art(312/243-9088; www.art.org)in Chicago until June 26,brings together the work of Minnie Evans, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Nellie Mae Rowe, and Bessie Harvey.Though they were inspired independently and had vigorously personal styles, all four ofthese women were born in the South and experienced poverty and hardship.Their artistic visions helped them transcend their challenging circumstances. Also on view,through June 4:"Laura Craig McNellis:Inside Out,1970-2003."
UNTITLED (CHURCH LADY IN PANTS SUIT)/ Nellie Mae Rowe / Vinings, Georgia / 1980 / crayon and felt-tip ink on paper / 24 x 18"/ private collection