Essential Earth Artist Statement Book

ESSENTIAL EARTH INVITATIONAL CERAMICS EXHIBITION

April 1 - April 29, 2017 at the

Wayne Art Center

April 1 - April 29, 2017 Curatorial Team

Brett Thomas, Wayne Art Center Ceramics Faculty Karen Louise Fay, Wayne Art Center Director of Exhibitions and Events Nancy Campbell, Wayne Art Center Executive Director

Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Gallery Wayne Art Center

ESSENTIALEARTH CURATED BY

Brett Thomas, Wayne Art Center Ceramics Faculty Karen Louise Fay, Director of Exhibitions and Events Nancy Campbell, Wayne Art Center Executive Director

ARTISTS Doug Baldwin (Missoula, MT) Nel Bannier (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Peter Callas (Belvidere, NJ) Jimmy Clark (Philadelphia, PA) Sharon Dash (Miami, FL) Harris Deller (Carbondale, IL) Chris Gustin (Dartmouth, MA) Jennifer Halli (South Dartmouth, MA) Steve Jones (Wentzville, MO) Brian Kakas (Marquette, MI) Shida Kuo (New York, NY) Marc Leuthold (Potsdam, NY) Didem Mert (Edinboro, PA) Sebastian Moh (Louisville, KY) Vijay V. Paniker (Glenview, IL) Lou Pierozzi (Lindenhurst, IL) Brenda Quinn (Ossining, NY) Keith Renner (Ossining, NY) Scott Ross (McMinnville, OR) Andrew Snyder (Rising Sun, MD) Neil Tetkowski (New York, NY) Brett Thomas (Media, PA) Jack Troy (Huntingdon, PA) Veronica Watkins (Maryville, MO) Lisa York (Gaithersburg, MD)

Doug Baldwin Missoula, MT

Advanced Throwing Terra cotta.

3.5” x 5” x 90” $1,800

I started making ducks over 50 years ago. I made them after traveling around Greece and falling in love with their red clay.

The ducks usually are found in miniature clay stadiums, as if in an arena. Also they are found in art history assemblages.

One example of this is of ducks in a Mondrian painting table game. Some, like these, were made similarly as to appear in an animated short film. If I smile while making these pieces, then I am encouraged to keep going.

Nel Bannier

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Lost Children’s Army Ceramics.

Dimensions vary. $70 per pair

In the last year of WWII, I was born in the Netherlands. While raising a family I got my degree in sculpture and drawing. At the age of 50, I moved to the USA and received an MFA in Ceramics.

Loving the US but also my family I travel between studios in Brooklyn, NY, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

My work is figurative, life size and more expressive than beautiful. The materials used are mainly clay (sometimes wood, fabric and metal are added).

I don’t like pedestals and make my work in away that it is self-supporting. When I make small work, it is in series, which often become an installation, but might exist as a single piece as well. The pieces balance between sculpture and ceramics. It is this living on a border line, what I like.

Peter Callas Belvidere, NJ

Barazack

Wood fired ceramic.

21” x 21” x 38” $30,000

Hotpocket #8 Wood fired ceramic.

16” x 18” x 10” $5,000

Hotpocket #14 For over three decades the process of wood firing ceramics has been the creative touchstone that changed the course of my life. This blending of both historical references and contemporary intellectual values has galvanized the work and my aesthetic vision.

It is an arcane process; a collaborative vision that stirs up elusive and poetic forms through tactile, intuitive inflections and the kilns subtle, broad color palette.

Artistically, I focus on framing the unpredictable... intent on capturing gesture in form; melding abstract expressionist values with Ashen Glazed surfaces to communicate the mysterious sensibilities of nature on fire.

(Pictured) Wood fired ceramic.

16” x 18” x 7” $5,000

Jimmy Clark Philadelphia, PA

Bottomless Series

All pieces pinched, bisqued, fired in saw dust.

Dimple Pot 1

Ceramic, steel.

10” x 8” x 8” $360

Dimple Pot 2

Ceramic, steel.

8.5” x 6” x 6” $280

Amphora 1 Ceramic, steel.

13.5” x 7” x 7” $650

Amphora 2 (Pictured) Ceramic, steel.

16” x 7.5” x 7.5” $750

Small Amphora

Ceramic, steel.

10.5” x 6” x 6” $450

Jimmy Clark is fascinated with the commonality of form found in ancient pottery, regardless of its culture or time of origin. It suggests that certain forms have universal appeal and transcend the circumstances of their creation. He strives to attain this universality in his works.

He is a widely recognized ceramic artist and has written, and been featured in, numerous articles in Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter, and American Craft as well as many publications abroad. He has exhibited and taught workshops all over the world including: China, Germany, Curacao, Switzerland, Canada, Puerto Rico, Anguilla and of course throughout the US.

Sharon R. Dash Miami, FL

Journey

(Pictured) Stoneware, glazes, underglazes, acrylic.

7” x 17” x 9.5” $4,000

Joyride

Stoneware, glazes, underglazes, mixed media.

9” x 11” x 7” $2,500

Ceramic sculpture is my passion. Clay is a magical, complex medium that fascinates, excites and motivates me to continue its pursuit and study. Though I fell in love with clay the moment I touched it, it was not until much later in life that I focused on learning its mysteries.

An interest in human behavior and psychology as well as a fascination with people and faces led me to working with the figure. Figurative sculpture allows me to tell stories about the human condition – our relationships, daily struggles and triumphs, our foibles, fantasies and emotions. The South Florida environment, animals and daily life experiences inspire me and are reflected in my work. I hope viewers will relate to my sculptures with a sense of shared experience, wonder, reflection and an occasional smile.

Excess Baggage Stoneware, glazes, underglazes.

9” x 12.25” x 9.25” $2,500

Harris Deller Carbondale, IL

Untitled Form, Curve and Bump with Concentric Arcs (Pictured) Porcelain.

19” x 8” x 3” $1,600

Untitled Stacked Form with Thumbprint Pattern Porcelain.

17” x 10” x 3” $1,500

What we know next will change what happens next, and we can’t know what we’ll know next, since if we could we’d know it know.

Karl Popper, philosopher My work is made from porcelain. I associate porcelain with newness, purity and perfection. My forms lean towards the whimsical and the third dimension is often altered or suppressed. I want my shapes to be precise and sometimes with an anthropomorphic stance. I use pattern to mark time and record human activity. I want to make vessels that are provocative contradictions.

Chris Gustin Dartmouth, MA

Charger, #1422

Coil built, anagama wood fired stoneware.

5.5” x 26” x 22.5” $5,000

Charger, #1423

Coil built, anagama wood fired stoneware.

6” x 26.5” x 23” $5,000

Charger, #1702

Coil built, anagama wood fired stoneware.

4.5” x 21” x 24.5” $5,000

Vessel with Dimple, #1505 Chris is a studio artist and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, where he retired in 1998. He lives and works in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Chris’ work is published extensively, and is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and others.

With over fifty solo exhibitions, he has exhibited, lectured and taught workshops around the world.

He has received two National Endowment for the Arts Artist Fellowships, and three Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowships. Chris is cofounder of the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine, and currently serves as Honorary Trustee on its board.

(Pictured) Coil built, anagama wood fired stoneware.

27” x 17” x 17” $8,500

Vessel with Dimple and Fold, #1610 Coil built, anagama wood fired stoneware.

32” x 15” x 14” $8,500

Vessel with Fold, #1302

Coil built, anagama wood fired stoneware.

43” x 22” x25” $20,000

Jennifer Halli South Dartmouth, MA

Agathus australis II

Handbuilt wood fired stoneware.

14” x 14” x 18” $1,400

Elsewhere

Handbuilt earthenware, terra sigillata, engobe, glaze.

18.5” x 10” x 13.5” $800

Feilding

(Pictured) Handbuilt earthenware, terra sigillata, steel.

11” x 11” x 12” $1,000

I find convention in moving forward, out of habit mostly; I actively discover what is new instead of processing the past. This means a constant look to the future - to what is next or what could be - in place of the here or now or was. Less comfortable is rummaging through my swiftly paced past, trying to pinch moments in time perhaps to which I should have paid more attention.

Focusing on dwellings, as they are concrete, and wood, and brick, I have a tangible start to recreate a point on a map. Recollections are often faint as my mind scans for the familiar, yet what it provides is hazy and ambiguous. More of a hint than a detail, more of a feel than a fact.

Steve Jones Wentzville, MO

Balancing Bear (Pictured) Ceramics, wood.

19.3” x 10” x 6” $600

Hoarder

Ceramics.

12” x 6.75” x 3.25” $400

Chewie From my childhood sculptures rendered in play dough, to the raw and hopefully charming sculptures of figures and animals I make today I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t making something.

My childhood memories have also shaped the way I render each of my sculptures, basing the grinning dogs and crooked people on how I remember seeing them in my youth.

My work is also meant for preservation. Looking back on small, ridiculous moments I hope to preserve these pieces of time in each work. I want my work to be honest, humorous, and visually appealing by experimenting with color and surface.

Ceramics.

10” x 8” x 3.25” $500

Brian Kakas Marquette, MI

Architectonics #1 Hand built white stoneware, Δ03 oxidation.

34” x 16” x 15” $3,300

Architectonics #2 (Pictured) Hand built white stoneware, Δ03 oxidation.

34” x 22” x 22” $3,100

Architectonics #3 Hand built white stoneware, Δ03 oxidation.

35” x 18” x 19” $3,200

Forms are derived from hybridizations of 20th century structural design aesthetics in architecture, and mathematical theories exploring systems of growth, patterns, and dimensions. These theories include: Cartesian Geometry, Mandelbrot Fractals, Golden Ratio, Fibonacci Sequences, and Gnomic Spirals, and are applied to the ratios and dimensions of segments within the modular mold fabrication system. The works are intended to incorporate mathematical theories which influence, but do not establish finite parameters. Numerical components of the theories remain irrational; concepts of the ratios are focused upon allowing the creation of intuitive sculptures.

Shida Kuo New York, NY

“Untitled” No. 05-10, 2005 (Pictured) Fired clay, oxides.

37” x 14” x 8” $16,000

“Untitled” No. 16-03, 2016 It puzzles me why certain forms and some particular types of material, would always possess more visceral power over me than others. Similarly, I am curious how people of different origins and backgrounds respond to forms and materials in an identical way. It seems to me that those shared experiences of emotional and spiritual impacts created by forms and materials have been articulated by our bodies even before they could be understood by our minds.

I attempt to locate the essence of forms, as a whole or as configurations of fragments. Those fragmented, unfinished forms are stored in my head, waiting to spring up from the entity called “I” after a series of conflicts, contradictions and convergence among themselves, until they emerge as a new form of completeness.

Fired clay, metallic oxides.

31.5” x 22” x 7” $16,000

Marc Leuthold Potsdam, NY

Cup

Porcelain.

3.5” x 3’5” x 1” $1,000

Czech

Porcelain.

5” x 5” x .5” $1,000

Dumpling

Porcelain.

6.5” x 13” x 7” $2,500

Pi

Porcelain.

6” x 6” x .5” $1,000

Yingge

(Pictured) Porcelain.

7.25” x 10” x 8” $3,000

Marc Leuthold’s sculptures have entered the collections of the Metropolitan and Brooklyn Museums and the Museum of Art and Design. Critic John Perreault has remarked: “One looks and looks for artists who break up history, who bend the descent, who force one to connect the dots in new ways, even turn away from some. Leuthold is one of these.”

The son of European immigrants, Leuthold is interested in cross-cultural experiences. His work reflects the influence of the arts of Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Leuthold is a Professor at the State University of New York and has taught at Princeton University and Parsons School of Design.

He is one of forty Americans who is an elected lifetime member of the International Academy of Ceramics.

Didem Mert Edinboro, PA

Bling Series

All pieces mid-range stoneware, terra sigillata, AMACO underglazes, slips, washes, glazes, lusters.

Divided Hourglass Mug 3.75” x 5” x 4” $77

Divided Oval Bowlin’ 2.5” x 8” x 6.5” $77

Square Mug 3.75” x 4” x 3.5” $67

Sunrise Mug 4” x 4.5” x 3.5” $67

Sunset Hourglass Mug 3.75” x 5” x 4” $77

In my work, I make connections between the utilitarian object and its counterparts; the user and/or the object’s environment.

Being the daughter of a woodworker, I was raised in a design-rich environment that has influenced who I am and my current body of ceramic work.

Geometry, texture, and the functionality of my work emanates from this artistic environment.

Different textural surfaces are created in my work by using pinched marks juxtaposed between smooth, defined lines and edges. Bright colors paired against a soft earthy color palette create high-contrast focal points in the work. Using simple geometry, I sgraffito1 line-work into the pots to heighten the formal elements of design. The simple line-work on the pots showcases food in its presentation.

Sunset Hourglass Mug 3.75” x 5” x 4” $77

Sunset Hourglass Mug 4” x 4” x 3.5” $77

Tipsy Sippin’ Cup Set (Pictured) 5” x 12” x 5.5” $237

Sebastian Moh Louisville, KY

Tea Bowl #1

(Pictured) Porcelain.

4.25” x 4.25” x 3.25” $300

Tea Bowl #2

Porcelain.

5.75” x 5.75” x 2.5” $250

Tea Bowl #3

Porcelain.

5.1” x 5.1” x 2.75” $250

Tea Bowl #4

Porcelain.

5.25” x 5.25” x 2.9” $250

Tea Bowl #5

Porcelain.

5.9” x 5.9” x 2.5” $250

I was raised on a small farm in Batu Pahat, Malaysia. My family was fairly isolated from neighbors so my brothers and sisters became my best friends.

It was also up to us to provide our own toys and entertainment, making us quite resourceful. Nature was an integral part of our life. This developed within me a more quiet and reserved personality with a keen observation to detail.

The essence of my work is to create a visual interest that will trigger an aesthetic response. The vessels articulate a rhythm that appeals to an abstract of universal human emotion. Art is an articulated arrangement of a profound idea. To create is divine, I just rearrange.

My goal is to simply make good work.

Vijay V. Paniker Glenview, IL

Pan Co Gas Can (Pictured) Δ10 stoneware, Δ06 glaze, water slide decal, precious metal luster, iron oxide, glass paint.

11” x 7.5” x 8.5” $1,100

Pan Co Large Safety Can

Δ10 stoneware, Δ06 glaze, water slide decal, precious metal luster, iron oxide, glass paint.

11” x 9.5” x 9.5” $1,500

Vijay V. Paniker is a Chicago artist who received his Bachelor’s Degree from Northeastern Illinois University where he double majored in Art and Anthropology. These seemingly diverse subjects converge though disguised behind his practice of trompe l’oeil ceramics. As expressed in his current bodies of work, Vijay’s Industrial Series tells the stories and creates new histories through these cultural artifact art objects. Currently, Vijay works for Shimpo Ceramics in Itasca, IL as well as the Brickton Art Center in Park Ridge, where he teaches adult ceramics classes and workshops. Vijay exhibits his work throughout the country.

Pan Co Perfect Oil

Δ10 stoneware, Δ06 glaze, water slide decal, precious metal luster, iron oxide, glass paint.

7.25” x 4.75” x 2.5” $600

Lou Pierozzi Lindenhurst, IL

The Emerald Coast (Pictured) Ceramics.

16” x 16” x 2.75” $550

Emerald Fields

Ceramics.

10.5” x 10.5” x 2.75” $245

Kawaiian Reflections

Ceramics.

10.5” x 10.5” x 2.75” $245

Reflections

Ceramics.

10.5” x 10.5” x 2.75” $245

Tidal Surge

(Five pieces) Ceramics.

10.5” x 10.5” x 2.75” $225

Topin

Ceramics.

16” x 16” x 2.75” $550

Based in the northern suburbs of Chicago, ceramist Lou Pierozzi maintains his studio where he dedicates himself to creating artwork that is inspired by timeless designs. In his travels, Pierozzi explored countries including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He was deeply moved by the people he encountered and the cultures he experienced.

He was also influenced by his exploration of ancient ceramics and uniquely stylized architecture.

This is reflected in his work and inspires his organic patterns, fluid textures and peaceful colors.

Pierozzi strives to strike a balance between form and function.

Brenda Quinn Ossining, NY

Pinched Jar (Pictured) Porcelain, glaze, underglaze.

10” x 13” x 5” $125

My work is inspired by and is a nod to the broad history of decorative arts. Developing forms that have a utilitarian function and a dynamic design is like trying to solve an evolving equation with an elusive answer. For me, this equation becomes more complicated with the addition of an ever-expanding range of functions, techniques, and glazes to my working vocabulary. The chase for a solution is engaging; so much so that I’m often interjecting more variables into my process in order to keep the chase going.

Keith Renner Ossining, NY

“.hm(a)”

(Top) Fused cement, porcelain.

8” x 6” x 5” $250

“.hm(b)”

(Center) Porcelain, fused cement, 8” x 6” x 5” $250

“.hm(c)”

Stoneware.

8” x 6” x 5” $100

“.hm(e)”

(Bottom) Stoneware.

8” x 6” x 5” $100

“.hm(f)”

Fused cement, stoneware.

8” x 6” x 5” $250

Scott Ross McMinnville, OR

Nike

(Pictured) Stoneware, red oak, acrylic.

73” x 32” x 32” $15,000

There are two built environments, the one that we physically occupy, move through and are contained by, and the one that is constructed within us. These sculptures, built of solid clay and wood, give form to the internal space where emotion resonates. They are brought into being by the actions of making an expressive mark through the addition and subtraction of material. In these expressive movements lies the attempt to resolve an interior conflict of dissonant emotions that are arrested into forms of my own accord.

The natural surfaces achieved through forming are enriched by long duration wood firings, which entail degrees of intimacy and care through extended hours of attending to the kiln. The pieces are a visual record of the connection between the physicality of emotion, the interior space of the self and the care one must take in such pursuits.

Andrew Snyder Rising Sun, MD

Certain Risk: A Thrown Line

Wheel thrown porcelain, stoneware and earthenware, cast concrete.

36” x 240” x 12” $13,000

Mark of Time Series: October Nos. 4.6-4.11

(Six pieces) Wheel thrown stoneware and acrylic on linen.

25” x 60” each $900 each

How can we use clay in a way that comments on contemporary issues? As time goes on, tradition must continue to find ways of integrating with contemporary ideas as to not be left by the wayside.

Inherently, there is an indefinable quality born from objects that human hands have touched while being created. My goal is to investigate new methods while using traditional materials and creatively think about the process which I love.

Neil Tetkowski New York, NY

Constructed Spiral Ceramic.

31” x 18” x 11” $5,000

Earthen Wings Ceramic.

22” x 22” x 3” $5,000

White Contour II Neil Tetkowski first exhibited his ceramics in 1978.

Since then he has shown extensively in the United States and abroad. In the 1990s, he began a landmark series of performance events using clay to express and record a personal choreography of art in action. The artist’s work has evolved over the years from vessel forms to sculpture. Tetkowski’s energy, movement, and gestures are recorded as “footprints” in massive organic disks and wall-hung forms. Embedded in these lush naturalistic forms are real fragments of industrial urban culture, iron spikes, screws, and hooks, as well as incise images pressed into the moist clay using castoff tools and machines.

David McFadden Chief Curator Emeritus, Museum of Arts & Design

(Pictured) Ceramic.

31” x 18” x 11” $5,000

Brett Thomas Media, PA

Trencher, Metal Cross Foot (Pictured) Stoneware, shino glaze, metal.

18” x 12” x 6” $2,200

Trencher, Round Metal Feet Stoneware, shino glaze, metal.

17” x 15” x 4” $1,632

Currently, the historic vessel called a Trencher inspires my focus. A trencher is a medieval dish designed to feed the poor. My contemporary approach to the trencher has allowed me to explore the endless possibilities to serve more than just the poor.

Jack Troy Huntingdon, PA

Porcelain Jar

Anagama fired porcelain, natural ash glaze.

13.5” x 15” x 15” $800

We potters finish our work, but others complete it, through use. Pottery is only finished once, but can be completed endlessly, by a succession of users, potentially enlivening a variety of settings. When we say we are “moved” by a pot, it may be the animating force of its creator refusing to be still.

Veronica Watkins Maryville, MO

Basket with Handle

White stoneware with metal, underglaze, glazes, fired to Δ6.

11” x 5.5” x 6.5” $400

Basket with Handles

(Pictured, top) White stoneware with metal, underglaze, glazes, fired to Δ6.

12.5” x 6.5” x 4.5” $425

Elongated Basket with Handles

(Pictured, bottom) White stoneware with metal, underglaze, glazes, fired to Δ6.

16” x 8” x 3.5” $450

My work reflects a fascination with utilitarian objects. The wonder of pottery is that it has the potential to become the user’s companion each day, taken into the home, and into the hand of the user—a very personal space. It is considered many times, and on many levels, both consciously and subconsciously. As our world becomes more virtual, I am compelled to be a maker and stubbornly hold to the commitment that beautiful handmade objects impact our existence. My work is knowingly influenced, both visually and conceptually, by the Mingei craft movement and the teachings of the Bauhaus, and with consideration for the history of pottery, my challenge is to add something personal to it through my work.

Lisa York

Gaithersburg, MD

Mug Set

Thrown and altered ceramic, carved wood.

8” x 9” x 4” $185

Serving Bowl Set Thrown and altered ceramic, carved wood.

6” x 24” x 7” $385

Spice Set

Thrown and altered ceramic, carved wood.

6” x 10” x 17” $385

When we share a meal around a particular table, start off the morning with a specific mug, or serve our favorite food on a special platter—each object evokes memories of previous meals. As a maker, I observe how ceramic vessels and dining room furniture bring us together—how the mere sight of them informs us that a celebration, or specific event, is forthcoming. I design utilitarian pieces that not only promote social gathering, but are also meant to become cherished objects.

My organic pottery invites you to touch and partake in the work, to feel the materials. I am driven by my own curiosity about materials and by the challenge of working with surface, form, and function. From the malleability of clay, to the rigidity of wood, these materials contrast and complement each other, both in their material characteristics and our interactions with the finished pieces.

Tumbler Set

Thrown and altered ceramic, carved wood.

8” x 7” x 7” $120

Vase Set

(Pictured) Thrown and altered ceramic, carved wood.

8” x 9” x 5” $185

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