Six McKnight Artists 2020

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ONLINE EXHIBITION JULY 3 – AUGUST 23, 2O20 Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota G U I L L E R M O

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Š 2020 Northern Clay Center. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For information, write to: Northern Clay Center 2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, MN 55406 www.northernclaycenter.org Manufactured in the United States First edition, 2020 International Standard Book Number 978-1-932706-55-0 Unless otherwise noted, all dimensions in inches: height precedes width precedes depth.

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

About

t h g i n McK gram Pro McKnight Artist Fellowships and Residencies for Ceramic Artists programs are designed to strengthen and enhance Minnesota’s artistic community, as well as significantly advance the work of Minnesota ceramic artists whose work is of exceptional artistic merit, who have already proven their abilities, and are at a career stage that is beyond emerging.

The programs provide two forms of direct financial support to ceramic artists: two fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding mid-career Minnesota ceramic artists; four residency awards are granted each year to artists from outside Minnesota, for a threemonth stay at Northern Clay Center.

Three individuals comprised the panel and selected the 2019 Fellows: Sharif Bey, PhD, associate professor of art at Syracuse University in New York; Linda Lighton, sculptor and founder and director of the Lighton International Artist Exchange Program; and Sequoia Miller, PhD, head curator of the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, Canada.

The 2020 exhibition offering features work by two 2019 McKnight Artist Fellows and four 2018 McKnight Artist Residents. The fellowship artists used the grants to defray studio and living expenses, experiment with new materials and techniques, and build upon ideas within their current and past work.

The McKnight Artist Fellowships and Residencies for Ceramic Artists program and this exhibition are made possible by generous financial support from the McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Six McKnight Artists

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Ted

Adler Engaged with clay from an early age, Ted Adler uses the material to grow knowledge from a practice that utilizes many processes — leading to many thoughts on form and volume.

Upon seeing a series of Adler’s works, I noticed references to a vessel in combination to the mass of a form collaboratively engaging what is seen and may be used for a specific purpose.

Within the layers of what is visible, there is an amount of space that is presented in the volume that is captured within each object he creates. Adler develops a series of works by exploring and constructing a variety of forms and then solidifying the breadth of the volume within each of them during varying processes of kiln firing. When seeing an overview of the different objects Adler has made, the viewer will notice that he processed his work through a variety of kiln environments like bisque firing, wood firing, or even different atmospheric kilns where he introduced salt or sodium bicarbonate into the chamber creating dynamic results.

Oscillating between sculpture and functional wares is a major part of the reflection on the use of metaphors in Adler’s objects.

Adler’s work does not give us space to reflect on metaphor, because most of his works are presented “Untitled.”

But we can engage the works for the spherical and almost plastic forms that present a kind of flowing direction and movement. This transitory gesture, rendered by the mode of forming with a slight pattern inherent in the surface of the objects, is methodical and decorative. The gestural textures all over the surfaces are a result of how they are constructed and are metaphors for how movement is encapsulated within the forms and is forced to be still.

That moment is a specific sequence in time that now recalls several moments in time at once.

The variety of masses and volumes that Adler puts within each work stiffens as the material transforms. The malleability of what is possible with the material changes also. Clay can be complicated to handle; it is everywhere and under the built and natural environments of our constructed reality. It has been used historically to make objects and forms that performed specific functions of utility and to build structures. Adler’s work reflects a combination between

the built and the functional operative that objects have been used for in our evolution as humans. Similarly to approaching historical artifacts, we question how one of Adler’s objects was made or constructed. Instead, I often wonder with what purpose the object was made and it may fit within the contextual relationships it has amongst other objects and signifiers.

As the material is formed by Adler and transformed into something that is a resolve from Adler’s experience, the change is evolving and set in motion over and over. As one considers the completed entity presented, work to see and acknowledge the flexibility objects once had and what should be done with the volume that we now interact with and see contained in the sculptural works that Adler shares with us.

Untitled Vessel, 2O19 Mid-range porcelain, feldspar inclusions 12 x 12 x 10

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

O6 — O7

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Hidemi

e k a t u Tok Hidemi Tokutake is a 2018 McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists awardee, participating in a residency at Northern Clay Center in the fall of 2019.

She was born in Japan and studied at the Seto Ceramic School in Seto, Japan.

She completed her master’s study of ceramics at the National Art School in Australia. Her work is invested in the flora of the Pacific. It is interesting to see Northern Clay Center amongst the myriad places Tokutake has worked and presented her ideas. She is a prolific maker and is deeply invested in the object and the possibilities of how it can be presented.

Referencing the landscape, Tokutake presents singular and amalgam objects that take on very complex physicality.

Through constructing methods and/or a combination with the textures achieved by using glaze surfaces, the works are very visceral and dynamic. Sometimes her work is photographed within a context or connection to a window where it is possible to see similarities or contrasts to the real landscape outside.

Reflecting on an untitled work from 2017, the sculpture is presented on a glass platform in front of a window with a view of a marsh landscape on the other side. This image has a layered color dynamic where the object in the foreground has a similar surface color

that is similar to the color palette of the grass and foliage in the distance.

It is as if the sculpture is a fragment of a larger artifact that could have emerged from this space exactly. The textures and surfaces appear similar to objects weathered by time and nature, but in fact, the multi-dimensional sculptures are made and constructed. It is virtually impossible to replicate time, but Tokutake is working to explore the possibilities of what it looks like to make connections between time and the natural world around us.

Another example of how the completed works are presented in photographs with ambiguous backgrounds is to focus on the intentionality in each object. There is a range of information to reflect upon when seeing and engaging with the variety of works made by Tokutake. Within ten years, her work has constantly evolved through a variety of dimensions showing her hand in each work. Some are linear, bulbous and substantial interpretations of form and material transformation. Growing from a history of material investigation and the cultural avant-garde, ceramic objects are being made in Japan by a variety of artists and makers of the same generation and older. What is important to know, coming from a perspective

of constant material investigation and cultural reverberation through the layers of culture, is that she is desiring an experience that evolves from a perspective that is not known in the cultural landscape of the Eurocentricdominant culture within the United States. There are more layers than one from outside the community can understand within the language, but as an artist, Hidemi Tokutake is working to add those dimensions within the sculptural works she continues to share.

Constantly reflecting on the landscape that she is living in and around, she was engaged in the complex and cold environment of Minneapolis during the cold winter months of October through December. Let us see how the residency assisted in the reflection and gave space to investigate in new works and ideas.

Buzz, 2O19 Clay, glaze 35 x 15 x 15

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

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Leandra

a i t u r r U Leandra Urrutia’s work is not determined within one context. She works across several platforms that include community engagement projects, making groups of functional wares, collaborative and individual residencies, and making sculptural objects. When the viewer approaches her work, there is no room for expectations that you will see or view the same exhibition or works twice.

Constantly taking note of her day-today experiences and dreams, Urrutia builds works that combine them all.

2019 was a busy year for Urrutia. She was awarded the Northern Clay Center McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, the ArtsMemphis Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration, and the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Emerging Artist Award. These are just a few of the numerous accolades that Urrutia has received. Teaching since 2002 at the Memphis College of Art, where she was associate professor of studio art, she leads beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses in clay sculpture and idea development.

She has consistently engaged and balanced the classroom with continuing her sculptural output as an artist. Being awarded the McKnight Artist Residency was a great way to spend a succinct

three months to focus on new works and enjoy her achievements. One of her goals was to make as many objects as possible to facilitate breakthroughs in her progress.

Urrutia’s work continues to build on imaginative and mythical narratives from project to project. Manifesting many of her works with red earthenware, her projects are not just touched by her hands and her eyes. There are many parts to her practice that engage groups, collaborations, and/or participation. In addition to exhibiting work at both national and international venues, she is one of the co-founding American members of Studio Nong Collective, an ongoing international residency comprised of artists and educators invested in creative and cultural exchange. Together there is dialogue, with works made individually or as a group. Many of their works have been exhibited in China and in the United States.

Working in a variety of contexts is a major part of Urrutia’s practice, showing the commitment she has for working with people and adding the complex levels of her spiritual and political beliefs within what she presents. During her time at Northern Clay Center, she desired to work through sculptural

methodologies to present new comments on the patriarchal dominance that has created the structures that we have inherited and the hierarchical societies we live in today. When talking with her, she shares that a concern of hers is creating a vocabulary of signs and symbols to empower women to have agency in their lives despite the inherited conditions we all face and live with. This sounds like an extension of her Odyssey series. It is a complicated feat, but change is needed. Facing the global coronavirus pandemic, agency is needed to create a new normal so the same issues and structures do not continue to ail our communities.

Leandra Urrutia has shared so much with the world, and it is gratifying to see her work getting recognized and exhibited in different institutions. One way that she assists people in being able to find agency in the places where they are is through her community engagement projects. She is constantly reflecting and then creating from that information and content. The critical measures used to make art are similar details we could use to build a new world from within. Presenting such a dynamic practice, Urrutia is working through so much to share that there is a lot more to experience in the future.

Our Lady of Tomorrows, 2O19 Clay, metal, wire 24 x 17.5 x 7

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

1O — 13

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Allessandro

Gallo

Alessandro Gallo is a sculptor of many narratives. Layering human and animal figurative elements, his sculptures present layers of personified daily life and mundane actions. Not explaining or communicating any specific story, Gallo is defining the figure and illustrating a skill to render a combination of threedimensional figurines. Some works are larger than toys or dolls but recall a history of figurines and the Meissen Monkey Orchestra. Throughout history, there has been an emphasis on animals personifying a human’s ability to socialize and reflect on day-to-day life.

It is within Gallo’s work that a reflection is endured when approaching his sculptural ceramic objects.

Seeing Gallo’s work for the first time, there is an instant excitement upon encountering the personal connection to the action presented. Upon another viewing, you start to see the textures and gestures of the works’ surfaces that then relate to what is being constructed — hair, scales, clothes, or even feathers. It is interesting to decipher the gestures of construction apart from the mark making that relates to the tools that have been used

through history to construct models that will be cast into metal or carved into stone. Thinking of textures and modeling tools, a great reference is the exhibition Bernini: Sculpting in Clay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2012. Modeling is an interesting process and it is exciting and clearly an interest and practice Gallo is invested in using as he navigates presenting new works constantly.

There is room to then discover what would have prompted Gallo to sculpt and present these actions amongst each other. As a wanderer around objects, I even wonder, “Is there a narrative desired for the viewer to attain when introduced to the works?” There is play in the presentation when works are finished and are available for an exhibition. Gallo shares direction in spite of no direct communication of where one should go. Referencing works from 2005 to 2006 that are photographic screen prints and a series of sculptures depicting donkeys in business suits, the hands in the suit pockets are a great representation of where Gallo is interested and constantly asking for the viewer to swivel with their expectations

and deal with another perspective of the day-to-day. There are also photos of an early chess set that is based on, and referencing, 1945’s Animal Farm

by George Orwell. This is important because during Gallo’s residency at Northern Clay Center he worked to complete another chess set with a new set of ideas and depictions and narratives within it.

Alessandro Gallo is an artist who has been consistently working for the last 18 years. Within his work he is not directly telling the viewer what to think or what to do. There is a complication in the construction of artworks that are dealing with representation, and the inherent abstraction is the resting place of that tension. Daily life is complicated and rigorous, and Gallo presents it with a searching humor within the layers of the objects he is making.

Animal Kingdom (Detail), 2O19 Ceramic, mixed media 8x8x8

Animal Kingdom, 2O19 Ceramic, mixed media Full installation 72 x 72 x 72

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Six McKnight Artists

14 — 15

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Guillermo

a i d r a u G When approaching the objects made

by Guillermo Guardia, you face a hybrid of references that combine signs and symbols that merge several perspectives as a part of his life. Guardia is merging parts of his history and experiences with references to historical cultural artifacts from pre-colonial communities that are no longer with us, but their objects are. His sculptures are still and caught in motion. Each still sculpture is like a sheet of a set of drawings for an animation. Combining the above with contemporary comic and cartoon characters from his memory, the work becomes a part of the lexicon of post-colonial statuettes. The surfaces of his work are highly decorative and elaborate, with linear elements and washes of color. When viewing Guillermo Guardia’s work, I reflect: “When does a line mark the decorative efforts of the maker, and when do lines demarcate the architecture and denote form or forms we are confronted by?” Guardia is constructing objects to balance these thoughts steeped in the life experience of growing up in the 1980s.

Growing up in Peru and experiencing the dynamic culture that was present in Lima in the 1980s and 1990s, and now living in the USA, he works through the violent and mentally jarring experiences

he shares in presentations, and works through it in his studio. Referencing home and belonging to a place, he creates his work to communicate the remnants of those memories within his sculptural objects. The memories are manifest in his series entitled Baby Devils, Crossing the Border, and Mad Llamas and Fat Coyotes. Everything is constructed with the aim of telling a personal narrative that is relative to many living today. The Baby Devils have inherent action and desire for safety and security. The sculptural intervention, Crossing the Border, uses objects performing a series of actions to cross a bridge as the objects refer to a desire for equality in all of our differences.

The Mad Llamas and Fat Coyotes also refers to equality but uses the llama as a symbol of immigration. Llamas currently originate in Peru and have been a domesticated, adopted animal being used across the continents. To Guardia, these animals are a personal symbol and important to understanding the context of all his other work. He has been making sculpture for ten plus years, and the iconography has been growing more dimensional as he continues to develop form.

Being awarded the McKnight Artist Fellowship provides financial relief to

allow Guardia space to engage more possibilities of different layers of research. The imagery he employs, the figures he constructs, and the materials pursued are all parts of new paths he is interested in putting into practice. Upon receiving this refreshing support, he developed the dense and intricate parts of his work to add more personal motifs to communicate specific direction.

Within his current series of works, he blurs an amalgamation of many motifs from the Moche ethnic group that lived in Peru between 100 to 800 — in European means of measuring time. The others are from the manga series Astro Boy and other characters starting to be made in the late 19th century. It is a complex mix of realities that Guillermo Guardia is working with, and with this award he gained space and time to continue to develop the intricate fusion he has initiated within his practice.

Astro GG, 2O19 Stoneware, underglazes, clear glaze 23 x 16 x 10

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e l o n Con Kelly

Often, when we approach sculpture, we view the works as singular objects in the presentation of one or another.

When viewing and learning about the works made throughout the last two decades by Kelly Connole, there is an oscillation between the singular object and the overall installation that creates a physical and emotional environment.

There is interesting growth of continuity and multiplicity within the myriad series made by Connole. Many perspectives have made an impact on her life, which she often depicts as symbolic animals in installations that tell a personal narrative or mystical history. It is exciting to see where her work will grow with the support of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists award.

Connole shared that she grew up in Montana and lived on the west coast before arriving in Minnesota. With the change of locations and communities, her work shifted as well. It ranges from large-scale figurative sculptures and installations made of multiples, to groups of ceramic and metal sculptures depicting crows and rabbits interacting with each other, to presentations with found objects and found materials. With

often whimsical depictions performing a variety of actions, Connole guides the viewer through the textures of life.

A recent presentation of Connole’s work entitled Murder No. 2 is comprised of several dozen crows circling a cascading red linear scrim with butterflies layered within the bottom quarter of the volume of the field. There is one way into this staged performance that looks like the viewer is able to enter and exit from the same direction. On first approach, the viewer is approaching a memorial service or community engaging in a conversation. Since the work is made of clay, the event is paused — and activated when the viewer steps onto the elevator structure. It’s uneasy and slightly jarring to feel the floor shift underneath your feet. Several works have been constructed by Connole to have a tenuous relationship with your senses and perception. She is playing with scale, visibility, texture and emotion.

When looking through the catalogue of different works made by Connole, there are quite a few desires, and one that takes precedence amidst them is her interest in taking the viewer to another

place through language and text. There are many references — some are to nature, some to emotional relationships, and some to animals personifying human behaviors. One of the greatest things that one can also reflect upon when learning from, and communicating with, Connole is her desire to make a difference reflecting on how the world was constructed. She presents different examples of how we got to where we are and is constantly sharing tools with others so that we may go see anew.

Murder No. 2, 2O19 Porcelain, red thread, sticks, stainless steel pins Full installation 28' x 8' x 16'

Murder No. 2 (Detail), 2O19 Sticks, porcelain, stainless steel pins 48 x 40 x 16

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

T E D

20 — 21

A D L E R

Born: December 27, 1969 (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

EDUCATION 2002 MFA, Studio Art, Ohio University, Athens 1997 PostBaccalaureate Studies, University of Iowa, Iowa City 1995 Post-Baccalaureate Studies, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland 1993-94 Apprentice to Toshiko Takaezu, Quakertown, NJ 1993 BA, Art, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR

SELECTED AWARDS 2019 McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN • University Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Grant, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 2018 Honorable Mention, Workhouse Clay International 2019, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA 2012 Best of Show, Flashpoint, Plinth Gallery, Denver, CO

SELECTED RECENT SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Clay & Life, Eutectic Gallery, Portland, Oregon 2018 Workhouse Clay International (juried), Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA • Thrown and Altered (juried), Clay Arts Vegas, Las Vegas, NV • Contemporary Clay (juried), Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO • Wichita Arts Council Juried Exhibition, City Arts, Wichita, KS 2017 Wichita National Invitational Exhibition, Reuben Saunders Gallery, Wichita, KS • Carbondale Clay National XII (juried), Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO 2016 Biomorphic (juried), American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA • Visionmakers 2016 (juried), 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, OK • Wood-fire Invitational, International Wood-fire Conference, Sugar Grove, IL 2015 1st International Biennial of Asunción, Muséo de Barro, Itá, Paraguay • Wood-fire Invitational, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT • Yunomi Invitational, AKAR Architecture Design Gallery, Iowa City, IA

GALLERY REPRESENTATION Eutectic Gallery, Portland, OR • Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT • Larsen Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ SELECTED COLLECTIONS Fu Le International Ceramic Museums, Fuping Pottery Art Village, China • The LH Project, Joseph, OR • The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT • Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2011 – current Tenured Associate Professor of Art, Ceramics, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 2005 – 2011 Assistant Professor of Art, Ceramics, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS 2019 McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN • Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT 2017 Red Lodge Clay Center, Artists-Invite-Artists with Brenda Lichman, Liz Lurie, Peter Beasecker, Adam Field, Red Lodge, MT

K E L L Y

C O N N O L E

Born: March 22, 1969 (Sacramento, CA)

EDUCATION 1996 MFA, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 1991 BFA, University of Montana, Missoula SELECTED RECENT SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Form and Function: Connole/Fisher/Shibata, Gould Library, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 2019 Two Birds, Swan Vision Gallery, Maiden Rock, WI • Sin: Seven Deadlies in Clay, NCECA concurrent exhibition, Carleton College, Northfield, MN • Unapologetic: Women’s Ceramics in the Land of Mingei-sota, NCECA concurrent exhibition, Minneapolis, MN • Heart Land Stories, NCECA concurrent exhibition, Q.arma Building, Minneapolis, MN • Women Who Teach, NCECA concurrent exhibition, Saint Catherine University, St. Paul, MN • Duck, Duck, Grey Duck, NCECA concurrent exhibition, Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, MN • Place: Artists of the Cannon River Clay Tour, NCECA concurrent exhibition, Northfield Arts Guild, MN 2018 Locals: In-conjunction with Kim Simonsson, American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN 2017 SEE: Faculty Exhibition, Perlman Teaching Museum, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 2016 Featured Artist, “MN Original” Episode #708, Twin Cities Public Television, St. Paul, MN 2015 Six McKnight Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN • More than One: Excursions into the Uncanny, (two-person), Kolman & Pryor Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2014 Midwest Mentors and Their Students, NCECA, LillStreet Expo Booth, Milwaukee, WI • Red River Reciprocity: Contemporary Ceramics in Minnesota and North Dakota, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND 2013 Flights of Fancy, (solo), Paramount Visual Arts Center, St. Cloud, MN 2012 Ibid: Artists Respond to Collections, Perlman Teaching Museum, Carleton College, Northfield, MN • Minnesota Funk, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN • Fins, Fur, and Feathers II, Cinema Gallery, Urbana, IL • Push Play NCECA Invitational,

Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA • What is a Rabbit?, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA 2011 Clay Dwelling: Six Ceramic Artists, Macalester College Art Gallery, St. Paul, MN • Minnesota Nice, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL • Setting Roots, Northfield Arts Guild, Northfield, MN SELECTED AWARDS 2019 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2017 Broadening the Bridge Grant, St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges, Northfield, MN 2014 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2013 President’s Civic Engagement Steward Award, Minnesota Campus Compact, in recognition of Carleton’s Empty Bowls Project, Minneapolis, MN 2010 Kiln God Residency, Watershed Center for Ceramics, Newcastle, ME SELECTED COLLECTIONS Hamline University Art Collection, St. Paul, MN • SeaCast Foundry Collection, Seattle, WA • Lyndel and Blaine King Collection, Minneapolis, MN • Kellie Rae Theiss Collection, Minneapolis, MN PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2017 – 2021 Co-Director: Public Works: Arts and Humanities Connecting Communities, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 2018 – present Professor of Art Carleton College, Northfield, MN 2010 – 2018 Associate Professor of Art Carleton College, Northfield, MN 2004 – 2010 Assistant Professor of Art Carleton College, Northfield, MN 2018 Fjelstul Visiting Artist Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 2019 Place Matters NCECA Panel Moderator, Minneapolis, MN 2010 Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration NCECA Panel Moderator, Philadelphia, PA 2001 – 2004 Hamline University, St. Paul, MN Full-time Visiting Assistant Professor

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

A L E S S A N D R O

22 — 23

G A L L O

Born: March 7, 1974 (Genova, Italy)

EDUCATION 2002 BA, (Honors) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art, London, United Kingdom 1999 Foundation Course, Central St Martins College of Art, London, United Kingdom SELECTED RECENT SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2019 Most of the time, (solo), Abmeyer Wood, Seattle, WA • Group Exhibitions: Biennale Internationale de Ceramique Contemporaine Vallauris, Vallauris, France • Hey! Modern Art and Pop Culture #3, Halle St.Pierre Museum, Paris, France • About Face. Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL • Premio Faenza - 60th Anniversary at MIC (Museo Internazionale della Ceramica) Faenza, Italy • Incongruous Body, AMOCA, Pomona, CA • Trophies and Preys: A Contemporary Bestiary, Peters Projects, Santa Fe, NM • 54th Venice Biennale, Italian Pavillion, Venezia, Italy • Die Figuratieven Oude Kerk, Terra Gallery, Delft, Holland • Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London 2016 For some reason, (solo) Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY 2014 Strani incontri, (solo) Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY 2008 Riding Out, (solo) Jill George Gallery, London

SELECTED AWARDS First Place, Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant • McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN • Montana Summer Residency, Bill and Stirling Sage Summer Scholarship, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT GALLERY REPRESENTATION Duane Reed Gallery, St Louis, MO SELECTED COLLECTIONS Museo Internazionale della Ceramica, Faenza, Italy • Seto City Art Museum, Seto, Japan • Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Demonstrating artist at 2018 annual NCECA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA • Guest Artist at Clay Gulgong Ceramic Festival, Gulgong, Australia • Artist in Residence, Foundation of Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park, Shigaraki, Japan • Invited Artist, Seto International Ceramic and Glass Art Exchange Program, A.I.R. Seto Ceramics and Glass Art Center, Seto, Japan

G U I L L E R M O

G U A R D I A

Born: August 13, 1975 (Lima, Peru)

EDUCATION 2009 MS, Industrial Technology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks 2005 MFA, Ceramics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks • BFA, Industrial Design, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima SELECTED RECENT SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Group Exhibition, Cartography of Desire, Saint Catherine University, St. Paul, MN 2019 Recent Works, (solo) Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND • My Four Truths, (solo) NCECA, Pig’s Eye Gallery, St. Paul, MN • Visions in Clay, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA • American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN • Duck, Duck, Grey Duck, MSP International Airport, Minneapolis, MN 2018 Visions in Clay, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA • American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN • Figurative Regional Ceramic Artists, American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN • Beyond the Brickyard, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT 2017 Recent Works, (solo) Rourke Museum, Moorhead, MN 2016 Crossing the Border, (solo) Public Art Installation, Greenway, Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN • Year One, (solo) Third Street Gallery, Grand Forks, ND • Visions in Clay, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA • National Juried Art Exhibition, Academy Center of the Arts, Lynchburg, VA 2015 2 Verdades/2 Truths, (solo) The Uptown Gallery, Fargo, ND 2014 4th Annual Workhouse Clay National, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA • Under the Dakota Sky: An Exhibition Celebrating 125 Years of Statehood, North Dakota Heritage Center, Bismarck, ND • History in the Making, The Firehouse Gallery, Genesee Pottery, Rochester, NY • Concordia Continental Ceramics

Competition IV, Concordia University, St. Paul, MN • Red River Reciprocity: Contemporary Ceramics in Minnesota and North Dakota, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND 2013 Beyond the Brickyard, International Juried Exhibition, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT 2012 Mis 3 Verdades/3 Truths, (solo) Minot State University, Minot, ND • Red Heat Contemporary Work in Clay, National Juried Exhibition, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK • Clay? IV, International Juried Exhibition, Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland, WA SELECTED AWARDS 2020 Artist Initiative Grant, Minnesota State Arts Board, St. Paul, MN 2019 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2015 – 2016 Forkin’ It Over for Public Art, Community Foundation Micro-Grant Program, Grand Forks, ND 2015 – 2016 Artist Fellowship, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Bismarck, ND 2015 Artist of the Year, North Valley Art Council, Grand Forks, ND SELECTED COLLECTIONS North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND • Fundación Puntos de Encuentro, Bogota, Colombia PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2019 Workshop, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND 2018 Ceramic Instructor, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2015 to present Studio Artist 2015 to present Teaching Artist: workshops, demonstrations, lectures; K-12, Nursing Homes, Art Centers 2009 – 2015 Artist in Residence, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

H I D E M I

24 — 25

T O K U T A K E

Born: July 14, 1972 (Kariya-City, Japan)

EDUCATION 2011 MFA, Ceramics, National Art School, Sydney, Australia 1999 Seto Ceramic School, Seto, Japan SELECTED RECENT SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 White Cube Gallery, Japan 2019 Honokuni Department Store, Japan 2018 Mugaen, Hekinan, Japan • 48th IAC Exhibition, Yingge Ceramic Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan • Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China • Song of Iron, National Taiwan University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan • Miaoli Pottery International Modern Ceramic Art Exhibition, Miaoli, Taiwan • Contemporary Ceramic Art in Asia, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea • Gallery Voice, Tajimi, Japan 2017 China and Japan Contemporary Ceramic Arts, Shanghai, China • Shadow of Sodeisha, National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland • Contemporary Ceramic Art in Asia, Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Seto, Japan • Art Stage, Jakarta, Indonesia • Ceramic Fair, Jingdezhen, China • Art Fair, Ling, China 2016 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney, Australia • Hidden: A Rookwood Sculpture Walk, Sydney, Australia • The China, Japan and South Korea International Ceramic Art Exhibition, Beijing, China • Sculpture Exhibition, Iriya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 2015 Watson Arts Centre, Columbia, Canberra, Australia • Scenic World, Blue Mountain, Sydney, Australia • IT Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan • Chawan Expo, Belgium • Ying Gallery, Beijing, China

2014 Bamboo Curtain, Taipei, Taiwan • Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney, Australia • Culture Vultures, Sefrou, Morocco 2013 The Apple House, Denmark • WASPS Artist Studios, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom • University of South Carolina Department of Art, SC • DNA, Hub Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom 2012 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney, Australia • VIP Art Fair, New York, NY AWARDS 2019 McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2018 Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China 2017 Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China 2016 UNSW Art and Design, Australia 2013 Guldagergaard-International Ceramic Research Centre, Denmark SELECTED COLLECTIONS National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland • Yingge Ceramic Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan • Miaoli Pottery International Modern Ceramic Art Center, Miaoli, Taiwan PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: WORKSHOPS 2018 Wood-fire Festival, Miaoli, Taiwan 2017 Culture Art, Xishuangbanna, China • Incheon Ceramic Festival, Incheon, Korea 2015 Canberra Potter’s Society, Canberra, Australia 2013 Longwood University, VA

L E A N D R A

U R R U T I A

Born: April 9, 1970 (San Antonio, TX)

EDUCATION MFA, Ceramics, University of Mississippi, Oxford • BFA, Ceramics and Drawing, Texas State University, San Marcos SELECTED RECENT SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Odyssey: New Work by Leandra Urrutia, Bry Art Gallery, University of Louisiana at Monroe 2019 The Sound of the Gulf: Memphis College of Art Horn Island Retrospective, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, MS • Enough: Me Too Exhibition Invitational, Rust Hall Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN 2018 Invisible Borders Clay Invitational, The Galleries at CCBC, Catonsville, MD 2017 Nasty Women Memphis Art Exhibition, Marshall Arts, Memphis, TN 2016 Art of Science, Hyde Gallery, Nesin Graduate Building, Memphis, TN • Moving Boundary, Jigang Galleries, Sanmin Arts Village, Nanning, People’s Republic of China • Sunset/Sunrise: Work from Studio Nong, Weinberger Fine Art Gallery, Kansas City, MO • Sunset/Sunrise: Work from Studio Nong, Hyde Gallery, Nesin Graduate Building, Memphis, TN 2015 Sunset/Sunrise: Work from Studio Nong, Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO • Horn Island Influences, Walter Anderson Museum, Ocean Springs, MS 2014 Pile, Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, TN • Sunrise/ Sunset, Rust Hall Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN 2013 Balancing Act, Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, TN • Sunrise/Sunset, Nixing Pottery Gallery, Qinzhou, Guangxi Province, People’s Republic of China 2012 Vive: Latino Art in the Mid-South, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN 2011 Cakewalk, Parking Day Performance, Memphis, TN 2010 Periphery, Theater on the Square, Memphis, TN • [choice] LIFE OVER AIDS, Hope Gallery, Memphis, TN 2009 Cypher–Urrutia and Hein, collaborative installation, On the Street Gallery, Memphis, TN

SELECTED AWARDS 2019 Robert and Martha Fogelman Family Faculty Enrichment Fund, Memphis College of Art [Tom Richmond Workshop, Amsterdam, Netherlands] • McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2017 Legends Award Artist: Honoring Barbara Holden Nixon, Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, Memphis, TN 2014 Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration, ArtsMemphis, Memphis, TN 2013 Faculty Enrichment Grant, Memphis College of Art [Guangxi Arts Institute Residency, Qinzhou Huayi Nixing Pottery Company and Bangmin Nong Studios, Quizhou, Guangxi Province, People’s Republic of China] SELECTED COLLECTIONS Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, Permanent Collection, Polaris, Memphis, TN • Kinsey Institute, Indiana University Bloomington, Permanent Collection, Bloomington, IN • Sandford Besser, Trustee American Craft Council in New York, Permanent Collection, Seven and the Maiden, Santa Fe, NM PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2002 – 2020 Associate Professor of Studio Art, Ceramic Sculpture & Foundations, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN 2019 Odyssey: A Presentation of Art and Research by Leandra Urrutia, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN • McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN 2015 Inaugural American Studio Nong International American Residency, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, Tennessee and Kansas City Arts Institute, Epperson Auditorium, Kansas City, MO • Calligraphic Form, Studio Nong Workshop, Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO 2013 Inaugural China Studio Nong International Residency, Nanning & Quinzhou, People’s Republic of China

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

26 — 27

t h g i n K c M The undation Fo The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts in Minnesota, neuroscience, and international crop research.

The Foundation has approximately $2.3 billion in assets and grants about $90 million a year.

Program Goal: Support working artists to create vibrant communities.

Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive.

As creators, innovators, and leaders, Minnesota’s working artists are the primary drivers of our heralded arts and culture community. Artists nurture our cultural identities, imagine solutions, and catalyze social change.

Organizations can provide critical support structures to working artists, helping artists sustain themselves through their creative work.

The McKnight Foundation invests in the arts and other sectors to support Minnesota’s working artists and advocate for the value of their work.

Past Recipients 1997 F Linda Christianson F Matthew Metz R Marina Kuchinski R George Pearlman 1998 F Judith Meyers Altobell F Jeffrey Oestreich R Andrea Leila Denecke R Eiko Kishi R Deborah Sigel 1999 F Gary Erickson F Will Swanson R Joe Batt R Kelly Connole 2000 F Sarah Heimann F Joseph Kress R Arina Ailincai R Mika Negishi R Mary Selvig R Megan Sweeney 2001 F Margaret Bohls F Robert Briscoe R Vineet Kacker R Davie Reneau R Patrick Taddy R Janet Williams

McKnight Artist Fellowships and Residencies for Ceramic Artists program and this exhibition are made possible by generous financial support from McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

2002 F Maren Kloppmann F Keisuke Mizuno R William Brouillard R Kirk Mangus R Tom Towater R Sandra Westley 2003 F Chuck Aydlett F Mary Roettger R Miriam Bloom R David S. East R Ting-Ju Shao R Kurt Webb 2004 F Andrea Leila Denecke F Matthew Metz R Eileen Cohen R Satoru Hoshino R Paul McMullan R Anita Powell 2005 F Maren Kloppmann F Tetsuya Yamada R Edith Garcia R Audrius Janušonis R Yonghee Joo R Hide Sadohara

2006 F Robert Briscoe F Mika Negishi Laidlaw R Lisa Marie Barber R Junko Nomura R Nick Renshaw R John Utgaard

2010 F Linda Christianson F Heather Nameth Bren R William Cravis R Rina Hongo R Naoto Nakada R Kevin Snipes

2014 F Kelly Connole F Kip O’Krongly R Jessica Brandl R Jae Won Lee R Amy Santoferraro R Andy Shaw

2018 F Brett Freund F Donovan Palmquist R Ted Adler R Alessandro Gallo R Hidemi Tokutake R Leandra Urrutia

2007 F Mike Norman F Joseph Kress R Greg Crowe R John Lambert R Lee Love R Alyssa Wood

2011 F Gerard Justin Ferrari F Mika Negishi Laidlaw R David Allyn R Edith Garcia R Peter Masters R Janet Williams

2015 F Ursula Hargens F Mika Negishi Laidlaw R Kathryn Finnerty R Lung-Chieh Lin R Helen Otterson R Joseph Pintz

2019 F Kelly Connole F Guillermo Guardia R Pattie Chalmers R Rebecca Chappell R Jin Cho R Marcelino Puig Pastrana

2008 F Andrea Leila Denecke F Marko Fields R Ilena Finocchi R Margaret O’Rorke R Yoko Sekino-Bové R Elizabeth Smith

2012 F Brian Boldon F Ursula Hargens R Pattie Chalmers R Haejung Lee R Ann-Charlotte Ohlsson R Nick Renshaw

2016 F Nicolas Darcourt F Sheryl McRoberts R Eva Kwong R Forrest Lesch-Middelton R Anthony Stellaccio R Kosmas Ballis

2009 F Ursula Hargens F Maren Kloppmann R Jonas Arčikauskas R Cary Esser R Alexandra Hibbitt R Ryan Mitchell

2013 F Keisuke Mizuno F Kimberlee Joy Roth R Claudia Alvarez R Tom Bartel R Sanam Emami R Sarah Heimann

2017 F Xilam Balam Ybarra F Mic Stowell R Derek Au R Linda Cordell R Bryan Czibesz R Ian Meares

F = Fellowship Recipient

•

R = Residency Recipient

Northern Clay Center

Six McKnight Artists

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About

y a l C n r e h t r o N r e t n e C Northern Clay Center’s mission is to advance the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Its goals are to create and promote high-quality, relevant, and participatory ceramic arts educational experiences; cultivate and challenge ceramic arts audiences through extraordinary exhibitions and programming; support ceramic artists in the expansion of their artistic and professional skills; embrace makers from diverse cultures and traditions in order to create a more inclusive clay community; and excel as a non-profit arts organization.

Staff Tippy Maurant, Interim Co-Executive Director Kyle Rudy-Kohlhepp, Interim Co-Executive Director Emily Romens, Galleries Manager Board of Directors Amanda Kay Anderson Bryan Anderson Nan Arundel Mary K. Baumann Craig Bishop Heather Nameth Bren Evelyn Weil Browne Nettie ColĂłn Sydney Crowder

Nancy Hanily-Dolan Patrick Kennedy Mark Lellman Kate Maury Brad Meier Philip Mische Debbie Schumer Rick Scott Paul Vahle

Honorary Director Kay Erickson Legacy Directors Andy Boss Warren MacKenzie Joan Mondale

Photographs of ceramic works by Peter Lee Design and portraits by Joseph D.R. OLeary (vetodesign.com)

2424 Franklin Avenue East Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406 612.339.8007 www.northernclaycenter.org