Beth Lo and Jennifer Datchuk: In the Year of Uncertainty

Beth Lo & Jennifer Datchuk

In the Year of Uncertainty

Beth Lo and Jennifer Datchuk In The Year of Uncertainty March 20-April 20, 2021

Front Cover- Beth Lo, Rice Caddy Back Cover- Jennifer Datchuk Rise Up Photographer: George Bouret

Lucy Lacoste Gallery 25 Main Street, Concord MA lucylacoste.com

Lucy Lacoste Gallery is pleased to present the long-awaited exhibition Beth Lo and Jennifer Datchuk: In the Year of Uncertainty. Lo and Datchuk use the lens of their cultural identity as first-generation daughters of Chinese parents, magnified by this year of pandemic and political unrest, to create these works.

Though separated by several decades of age, Lo and Datchuk share the angst of being perceived as culturally different from most Americans, an effect amplified by their being of Chinese heritage, at a time when China is in the news.

As Beth Ann Gerstein, Director of AMOCA, the American Museum of Ceramic Art stated: "Beth Lo and Jennifer Ling Datchuk represent two generations of Chinese American ceramic artists. Beth Lo has been a quiet powerhouse for more than three decades as an artist, educator, and a children’s book illustrator. For more than 10 years, Jennifer Ling Datchuk has created compelling installations, videos, and object-based work. Both of these artists mine their cultural heritage for artistic content and uniquely explore the connections and disjunctions between two or more cultures with themes of heritage, identity, otherness, and isolation."

BETH LO

b. 1949 In The Year of Uncertainty The past two years have been filled with much anxiety and disorientation. The virus and the political division in our country have left many of us feeling isolated and alienated.

The work in this exhibition can be read like a diary of my response to three main events of 2019 and 2020: the pandemic; political turmoil; and the passing of my mother Kiahsuang Shen Lo, who was a traditional Chinese brush painter.

In general, my work is centered around my interest in cultural diversity and the dual nature of my American Chinese heritage. In this body of work those themes are colored by the uniquely stressful occurrences of the last two years. My responses were to create new forms and imagery, and begin projects such as fundraisers from the sales of my COVID-19 and Voter Registration Plates.

The take-out boxes allude to the fact that food is nourishment for the body and also reinforces culture. The two styles of boxes represent Chinese food (dumplings, noodles) and standard American fare (hamburgers and French fries). The take-out boxes are also a nod to restaurant “to go” options that have proliferated during the pandemic.

The Chinese landscape brush painting imagery is derived from paintings that were done by my mother before she passed away. I painted my own versions of several of her favorite paintings on “99 Years”, “Waiting” and “Filial” as tributes to her life.

Other pieces speak to a feeling of insecurity in this time of the pandemic and political Artist, Artwork Title Time to Come Home, I love You”, “Home”, and “Waiting” were anxiety.

“Don’t Be Afraid, Medium created out of the need for patience, calm, and a longing for comfort. These themes Dimensions were well suited to the slow process of coil building with clay: repetitive, meditative, one step at a time, gradually taking form.

Artist, Artwork Title Medium Dimensions Beth Lo, After Kiahsuang 2021 detail Porcelain 17h x 12w x 12d

Artist, Artwork Title Medium Beth Lo, After Kiahsuang 2021 detail Dimensions Porcelain 17h x 12w x 12d in

Artist, Artwork Title Beth Lo, Don't Be Afraid Medium To Come Home, I Love Dimensions You Porcelain 15hx8.5wx8.5d

Beth Lo, Waiting, 2020 Porcelain 13hx9wx7d

Beth Lo, Shelter (front view) Porcelain 24hx13d

Beth Lo, Shelter (back view) Porcelain 24hx13d

Beth Lo, Home Porcelain 23hx13d

Beth Lo, Tea Caddy Porcelain 8hx8d

Beth Lo, Rice Caddy Porcelain 8hx8d

Beth Lo, 99 Years Porcelain 9 Piece set

Beth Lo To Go, China, USA Porcelain

Beth Lo, Take Out Girl, Porcelain 10hx8.5wx5d

Beth Lo, Take Out Boy, Porcelain 12hx11wx6.5d

Beth Lo, Father Daughter Dinner Porcelain 3.75hx9.75wx5d

Beth Lo, Mother Son Dinner Porcelain 4hx10wx5.25d

Beth Lo, Take Out Dinner for Two, Porcelain 7 Piece Set

Beth Lo, Vote! Important!

Porcelain 9.75wx5.75d

Beth Lo, Sign Up To Vote!

Porcelain 9.75wx5.75d

Beth Lo, Everybody Vote!

Porcelain 9.75wx5.75d

Beth Lo, Social Distancing Porcelain 9.5wx4d

Beth Lo, Social Distancing Porcelain 9.5wx4d

Beth Lo, Six Feet, Porcelain, 9.5wx4d

Beth Lo, Wear a Mask for your Country, Porcelain, 9.5wx4d

Beth Lo, Take Out, Porcelain, 9.5wx4d

Beth Lo, Disinfect, Porcelain, 9.5wx4d

Beth Lo, Soap Tray Porcelain 5wx5d

Beth Lo, Cake Tray Porcelain 5wx5d

Jennifer Datchuk Good Girl Stuff b. 1980 I think about the effect of the pandemic on women and the many roles we juggle as sisters, daughters, mothers, partners, caretakers, and teachers to name just a few.

How do we take care of our communities, our families, and even ourselves during this time of political unrest, social injustices, and extreme wealth inequalities? What can we do to protect our bodies, share our stories, rest without feeling guilty, and love without feeling shame?

My work has always been an exploration of my layered identity – as a woman, an Asian woman, as an “American,” as a third culture kid. I am the daughter of an immigrant, the granddaughter of factory women, and come from a long line of service sector Asians. We cook your food, wash your dishes, gut your fish, sew your clothes, make your beds, massage your knots, trim your cuticles, and wash your hair. This labor creates comfort and convenience for others while never considering the person behind the mask or at your feet.

“Good Girl Stuff” reminds us to take care of ourselves through objects of self-care, affirmations to carry you forward, and reconciling the complicated feelings of your family and culture. Working in porcelain allows me to speak in dualities, especially of fragility and resilience and ultimately the struggle between diversity and the flawless white body. Asian sheet masks with popular and funny patterns are rendered in porcelain and adorned with blue and white patterns, overglaze painting, and decals as a nod to Chinese porcelain history and the desire to pause, relax, and reflect.

Bamboo letters and back scratcher forms are mimicked in porcelain to share the stories of lucky bamboo used for feng shui and how it can be manipulated and force to grow in spirals and turns. I see this evasive plant as a metaphor for the resilience of women and how they continue to thrive and grow with obstacles, provide beauty in times of pain, and demand to be seen.

Jennifer Datchuk, Flawless (Pink Peonies) detail Porcelain, blue and white pattern transfer from Jingdezhen, China,Mirror Plexiglass

Jennifer Datchuk, Flawless (Pink Peonies) Porcelain, blue and white pattern transfer from Jingdezhen, China,Mirror Plexiglass 20hx16wx3d

Jennifer Datchuk, Flawless (Blue Birds) Porcelain, Decals, Overglaze paints, Mirror plexiglass 20hx16wx3d

Jennifer Datchuk, Keep Your Goals Away from Trolls Porcelain, Sticky Putty

Jennifer Datchuk, You Scratch My Back, You Scratch None (detail)

Jennifer Datchuk, You Scratch My Back, You Scratch None Porcelain, Acrylic Nails 14hx1.5wx1.5d

Jennifer Datchuk, Kitty Kat Pat Scratcher Porcelain 10hx1wx1d

Jennifer Datchuk, Lucky Porcelain, Purse 13hx6wx4d

Jennifer Datchuk, Half/Both Porcelain, Blue and White Pattern Transfer 3hx6wx9d

Jennifer Datchuk, Rise Up Porcelain, Found Figurine 14hx6wx6d

Jennifer Datchuk Bamboo Ceiling Porcelain 12.5hx2w

Jennifer Datchuk, Double Happiness Porcelain, Plexiglass Case 12hx14.5wx5.5d

Beth Lo born 1949

Professor of Art, School of Art, University of Montana, retired

EDUCATION

1974 MFA, Ceramics University of Montana 1971 BGS, General Studies University of Michigan SELECTED HONORS AND AWARDS 2018 Montana Potter Laureate 2010 UM Provost’s Distinguished Faculty Award 2009 United States Artists $50,000 Hoi Fellowship 2008 UM School of Fine Arts Alumni Award, Odyssey of the Stars 2006 Montana Book Award Honor Book 2006 Marion Vannett Ridgeway Award for Mahjong All Day Long 2006 UM Provost’s Distinguished Faculty Award 2003 Demonstrator, NCECA Conference 2002 UM School of Fine Arts Distinguished Faculty Award 1996 UM School of Fine Arts Distinguished Faculty Award 1995 Presenter, NGO Conference on Women, Beijing, China 1994 National Endowment for the Arts $20,000 Visual Artists Fellowship Grant 1993 Presenter, NCECA Conference 1991 Demonstrator, NCECA Conference 1989 Montana Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship 1986 American Craft Museum Design Award

SELECTED ONE AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITION 2021 Lucy Lacoste Gallery: Beth Lo and Jennifer Ling Datchuk 2021 Schaller Gallery: Beth Lo and Liz Quackenbush 2021 Akar Gallery

2021 Tandem Gallery: Beth Lo and Lauren Gallaspy 2020 Red Lodge Clay Center: Beth Lo and Steve Lee 2019 Radius Gallery, Missoula MT 2019 Lacoste/Keane Gallery, Concord, MA 2018 Schaller Gallery 2018 Akar Gallery 2017 Sherry Leedy Gallery, Kansas City, MO 2016 Turman Larison Gallery, Helena, MT 2016 Tori Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2015 Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI 2012 Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO 2009 Carleton College, Minnesota 2008 Lane County Community College, Eugene, OR 2005 Missoula Museum of the Arts, Missoula, MT 2005 Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, WA 2004 Santa Fe Clay Arts Center, Santa Fe, NM 2002 Lorinda Knight Gallery, Spokane, WA 2001 Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, WA 2000 Lorinda Knight Gallery, Spokane, WA 2000 Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA 1996 Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA 1996 J. Maddux Parker Gallery, Sacramento, CA 1993 Mia Gallery, Seattle, WA 1993 J. Maddux Parker Gallery, Sacramento, CA 1990 Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, MT

SELECTED RECENT SMALL GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2021 Dallas Pottery Invitational, online 2021 The Venetian Ceramic Exhibition, Project SandX, Macau 2021 Women Working in Clay Exhibition, Eleanor Wilson Museum, Roanoke, VA 2020 Amoca: Making in Between: Contemporary Chinese American Ceramics 2020 Sherry Ieedy Gallery: 35 Year Anniversary Exhibition

2020 Radius Gallery: Covid 19 Fundraiser 2019 Women Working in Clay Symposium Exhibition, Eleanor Wilson Museum, Roanoke, VA 2018 “The Incongruous Body”,American Museum of Contemporary Art, Pomona, CA 2018 Lacoste/Keane Gallery, Concord, MA 2018 Red Lodge Clay Art Center, Red Lodge, MT 2017 Natsoulas Gallery California Clay Art Convention 2016 50 Women: A Celebration of Women’s Contribution to Ceramics, NCECA Kansas City 2015 American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis 2014 American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, closing lecture 2013 7th International Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale, Korea 2012 “The New Blue and White”, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MA 2012 “Contemporary Ceramics”, Stremmel Gallery, Reno, NV 2008 “Voices,” NCECA Invitational Exhibition, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA, (catalog) 2007 “Contemporary Ceramics" at the Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH 2007 “Form and Imagination: Women Ceramic Sculptors”, American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), Pomona, CA 2006 “Life Insight”, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY 2006 Clay Menagerie”, Garth Clark Gallery, NYC, NY 2005 NCECA Exhibition, Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan 2004 “Portraits,” Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA 2003 “Subject. Me. Object” Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA 2003 “Crossroads: New Art from the Northwest” Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS 2020 Beth Lo Monograph, Natsoulas Press 2016 Beth Lo, Natsoulas Press 2014 “Breath, Beth Lo in Korea”, by Brandon Reintjes, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Issue 97 2012 Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic, by Ginnie Lo (children’s book illustrations), Lee and Low, NYC 2005 Mahjong All Day Long, by Ginnie Lo (children’s book illustrations), Walker Books, NYC 2000 American Craft Magazine, cover story by Rick Newby 1996 Artweek, review by Ron Glowen 1995 Ceramics Monthly (May issue) 1995 "Artists at Work: 25 Northwest Glassmakers," Ceramicists and Jewelers,

by Susan Biskeborn 1987 "American Ceramics," New York Times Magazine SELECTED COLLECTIONS Schein –Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred NY Tweed Art Museum, Duluth MN Ceramic Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Hallmark Art Collection The Dinnerware Museum, Ann Arbor, MI Microsoft Corporation, WA University of Washington Harborview Medical Center Carleton College, MN Missoula Art Museum, MT Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, MT

Jennifer Datchuk

born 1980

Education 2008 MFA Artisanry (Ceramics) University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 2004 BFA Crafts (Ceramics) Kent State University Solo and Two Person Exhibitions 2021 In the Year of Uncertainty with Beth Lo, Lucy Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA 2021 TBA, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, Texas (September – January) 2020 Making Women, Pedrotti Gallery, Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas 2019 thick, Artpace, San Antonio, Texas The Political Hand, American Craft Council, Minneapolis, MN Truth Before Flowers, Women and Their Work, Austin, TX Don’t Worry Be Happy, Ruiz Healy Art, San Antonio, TX Don’t Tell Me To Smile, Ruiz Healy Art, New York, New York 2017 Girl You Can, Neidorff Art Gallery, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 2016 Blackwork, Art League Houston, Houston, TX 2014 Dark and Lovely, Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, San Antonio, TX 2010 Sometimes I Wish I Was Invisible, Stella haus, San Antonio, TX Little Graces, SMART Art Space, San Antonio, TX 2007 Recent Work, Gallery 244, Star Store, New Bedford, MA

Group Exhibitions 2021 An Active and Urgent Telling, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN (organized by Strange Fire Collective) Plurality of Isolations, Ruiz Healy Art, San Antonio, TX 2020 Visibilities: Intrepid Women of Artpace, Artpace, San Antonio, TX Objects Redux, form & concept, Santa Fe, New Mexico Changing Social Discourse, University of Texas San Antonio Gallery, San Antonio, TX

Migration and Meaning in Art, Meyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD Making in Between: Contemporary Chinese American Ceramics, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA The Burdens of History, Visual Arts Center, Richmond, Virginia Body, Object, Image, Candela Gallery, Richmond, Virginia 100 Years / 100 Women, Park Avenue Armory, New York, NY (curated by Dr. Deborah Willis) Status of Women, Centro de Artes, San Antonio, Texas (city of San Antonio commission) 100 Women – 100 Years, Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Voices for Change, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL We Are More Than a Moment, MCLA Gallery 51, North Adams, MA (curator Genevieve Gaignard) Faces in the Pandemic, Houston Asian American Archive, Houston, TX Now You See Me, Foto Relevance, Houston, TX Voices for Change, Fine Arts Center Gallery, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 2019 The Great Race, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York PROCESS, Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York In Sight, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT Domestic Matters: The Uncommon Apron, Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ Shifting Reverence, Silverwood Park, Saint Anthony, MN Made in Asia America, Art Salon Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA Self Portraits, Dorf, Austin, Texas OBJECTS:USA REDUX, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX Funkadelic Awakening: A Futuristic Resistance, Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA The Fulfillment Center, Black Cube Nomadic Museum, Denver, Colorado (curated by Cortney Stell) Closets: Reimagining Identities while Embracing Memories, Gulf & Western Gallery, Tisch School of Arts, New York University, New York, NY (curated by Dr. Deborah Willis) Every Ware, Gallery 2, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX Texas State Faculty Exhibition, Meadows Gallery, UT Tyler, Tyler, Texas

2018 Melting Point, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA 74th Scripps Annual, Scripps College, Claremont, CA Feminum, Landmarks Art Gallery, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX Common Currents, Artpace, San Antonio, TX Oriented, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, PA (NCECA conference exhibition) US = Emerging Voices in Clay, District Clay Gallery, Washington D.C Blue is Not a Color, Ruiz Healy Art, San Antonio, Texas Cit.i.zen.ship: Reflection on Rights, Tisch School of Arts, New York University, New York, NY Craft Texas 2018, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX 2017 Texas Biennial, Big Medium, Austin, TX (curated by Leslie Moody Castro) Whitewash, Threewalls Performance Art Series @ Wabash Arts Corridor, Chicago, IL (curated by Jeffreen Hayes) Fake Art, Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI Mindful: Exploring Mental Health through Art, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA Critical Mass, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX Mixed Feelings: The Irreverent Object, Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, OR Mindful: Exploring Mental Health through Art, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA

2016 Gold Hill Public Art Project, Black Cube Nomadic Museum, Denver, CO (site specific/public) CraftTexas2016, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (juried, Merit Award) Allow Me: Facing Identity, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX VisionMakers 2016, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, OK (juried) No Empty Vessel, Gildar Gallery, Denver, CO The Clay Studio National, Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA (juried) Treachery of Objects, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR Selected Publications and Review 2018 Datchuk, Jennifer Ling. American Made, American Maker. American Craft Inquiry, vol.2, issue 1

2020 SA Artist Datchuk Wins Prestigious $50,000 United States Fellowship, San Antonio Report, San Antonio, TX Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Win $50,000 United States Artists Fellowships, Sightlines, Austin, TX San Antonio Artist Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Artist Nari Ward Win $50,000 ‘United States Artist’s Fellowships, Glasstire Women Talk Art, Unfiltered SA, San Antonio, TX Artist Jennifer Ling Datchuk Among Artists in ‘100 Years/100 Women’ NY Exhibition, Glasstire Women Creating Nouns, Not Adjectives: Votes for Women, Vogue 100 Women, 100 Years : female artists celebrate the right to vote, The Guardian 2019 Artist Jennifer Ling Datchuk Stays Above the Trolls with Dual Shows at Ruiz-Healy Art, Rivard Report, San Antonio, TX ‘Don’t Tell Me to Smile’ Is The Girl Power Art Exhibit You Can’t Miss, Guest of a Guest, New York, NY Black Cube’s ‘The Fulfilment Center’ Considers Roles of Warehouses, Hyperallergic Jennifer Ling Datchuk: Half, F&M Projects, San Antonio San Antonio Artist Jennifer Ling Datchuk Gives Multicultural Women a Seat at the Table, The Texas Observer, Austin The frigid succulence of ceramic bodies, LABEL Magazine, Poland Truth Before Flowers, Tribeza Magazine, Austin The Babe Cave: Jennifer Ling Datchuk’s “Truth Before Flowers”, Sight Lines Magazine, Austin

2016 Ceramicist, Datchuk Lives the Messages in Her Beautiful Work, Moore Women Artists From Clay to Human Hair: Jennifer Ling Datchuk on Her Practice, Black Cube Blog Black Cube Artist Fellow Jennifer Ling Datchuk Mines History for Gold Hill Project, Westword, Denver 2015 The Roots of Identity, Gender, San Antonio Express News Collections Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas Private collections, San Antonio, TX, Houston, TX, New York, NY, Providence, RI, New Bedford, MA