Ruth Borgenicht’s ceramic sculptures are comprised of moveable, interlocking rings that refer to Medieval chain mail, woven patterns and mathematical systems to create malleable households. The work’s reference to ancient armor and stone-like appearance implies impenetrability, belying the inherent fragility of the ceramic material.
Borgenicht’s current exhibition, Homesites, includes a series of salt-fired, basket-like forms that explore iconic, architectural rooflines and evoke domesticity and permanence. The variable ceramic structures can be opened out to expose the vulnerability of the interior space, or can be folded in, to enclose the interior suggesting protection and safety.
Residing in New Jersey, Borgenicht has been granted residencies at Anderson Ranch, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the Greenwich House Pottery. She holds a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and in 2007 was awarded the Medal of the Lions Club, 55th Premio Faenza from the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Italy.
Her sculptures are in the public collections of The Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; Sevres Ceramics Museum, Paris, France; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE; and the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, MO, among others.
