Ceramics Now Exhibition, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ceramics Now Exhibition, The Paintbrush Factory, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
December 9, 2011 - January 6, 2012
Ceramics Now Magazine has the pleasure to invite you to the first edition of the Ceramics Now exhibition, held at the Paintbrush Factory, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, from December 9, 2011 to January 6, 2012.
Opening reception: Friday, Dec 9, at 18:00.
The exhibition presents different approaches of contemporary ceramic art through the works of 15 artists from USA, Canada, Israel, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, South Korea and Poland, and celebrates the launch of Ceramics Now Magazine’s first printed issue. The artists are also featured in the first issue.
EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Chang Hyun Bang (KR), Antonella Cimatti (IT), Patrick Colhoun (UK), Carole Epp (CA), Simcha Even-Chen (IL), Shamai Gibsh (IL), Mark Goudy (US), Roxanne Jackson (US), Margrieta Jeltema (IT), Maciej Kasperski (PL), Jim Kraft (US), Cynthia Lahti (US), Claire Muckian (IE), Connie Norman (US), Liza Riddle (US).
EXHIBITION SPACE:
The Paintbrush Factory (third floor)
Henri Barbusse nr. 59-61
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Open Monday-Saturday, 14-20 pm, closed on Sundays, Christmas (Dec 24, 25, 26) and New Year (Dec 31, Jan 1). Free admission. With the kind support of SABOT Gallery and the Paintbrush Factory.
CONTACT:
office@ceramicsnow.org
Tel. +4 0748 311 663
Media partners: Euronews, Art-Agenda, Radio Romania Cultural, TVR Cultural, RFI, ArtClue, Modernism, Slicker, Neaparat, ArtAct Magazine, Vernisaje.com, Zile si Nopti, 24FUN, Citynews, Ziua de Cluj, NCN, alternativ.ro, Welcome2Cluj, Evenimente in Cluj, QBOX.
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Chang Hyun Bang (KR) studied ceramics and English language and literature at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, and continued his studies (an MFA in Ceramics) at the State University of New York, New Paltz. He had participated in numerous exhibitions in the USA and Korea, and won prizes in biennales and contests all over the world.
The tiny swines in my work have human emotions. Depression, anxiety, desire, obsession from my daily lives, and subtle emotions indescribable through language are conveyed to viewers through swine body language. The space I dwell in is represented through abstract architectural structures. This is a floating space dependent on memories of experience, rather than actual space our bodies exist in, or phenomenological space where we meet the world and new languages are produced.
Antonella Cimatti (IT) was born in Faenza, Italy, in 1956. One of Carlo Zauli’s pupils at the Istituto d’Arte (State School of Ceramics) in Faenza, she went on to obtain a degree with distinction from the Accademia di Belle Arti (Fine Arts Academy) in Bologna. She has been teaching Design at the Istituto d’Arte in Faenza since 1979.
My way of working is not traditional. My objective is to create a lightness in ceramics - not only regarding weight but also visually. I need to discover the right combination of materials in order to obtain the results you see. I have tried different types of syringes, of clays, and supporting molds. For example, my experiments with plaster molds weren’t suitable because the objects made in paperclay were impossible to remove without destroying them.
Instead of creating holes by cutting out shapes, my pieces have been formed using a very thin decoration that creates their form: it’s an art of addition, not of subtraction.
Patrick Colhoun (UK) is an emerging ceramic artist from Belfast, UK. The powerful message of his works was transmitted in almost twenty exhibitions since 2009. Most recently, his exhibition at Canvas Galleries was highly appreciated.
My early work was influenced by redundancy and to a degree, growing up in Belfast during the Troubles. After that, I liked the reaction I got to slightly darker subject matter and deliberately developed a style that was strong, masculine and slightly controversial. I began to look into other slightly dark influences such as containment, aggression and sexual deviancy. I think that this was my way of expressing the fact that I had worked for other people for nearly twenty years and this was me rebelling slightly, through my ever more controversial subject matter.
Carole Epp (CA) is a Canadian ceramic artist and writer, who received her Masters Degree in Ceramics from the Australian National University. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, Scotland, Australia and the United States. She is editor of Musing About Mud an online blog which showcases information, calls for entry, exhibitions and artist profiles related to the ceramic arts.
My present project is a series of figurative sculptures that reference kitsch figurines, lowbrow art, DIY culture, and popular/western/consumer culture. Drawing from very personal narratives the work is an investigation into the human condition presenting figurative tableaus of death and love, hope and failure, family and social pressures. The aim of my work is always to stimulate conversation, thought and action in a pro-active method. I desire to address issues of political, social, humanitarian concern. Issues are taken from contemporary media, but addressed through my own personal voice.
Simcha Even-Chen (IL), winner of the Kaolin Grand Prix for International Ceramic Art Jingdezhen Museum in China (2011), is one of the most productive Israeli ceramic artists. She had over thirty exhibitions in the last years, and she had participated in numerous contests and biennales across the globe. Her collections are spread over five continents.
My body of work deals with construction of architectural geometrical shapes, their fragmentation, and the rapport generated when they are combined to form an assemblage. The use of the geometric design on the surface adds another dimension to each object on it own, but also has an impact on the fractures between objects in a group, as the flow of lines and shapes redefines the significance of each shape and gives a visual perception of unity and harmony to the work.
Shamai Gibsh (IL) is the owner of a ceramic studio in Jaffa, Israel. For the last 11 years, he has worked every summer at the Harvard Ceramic Studio.
Though in the beginning of my work with clay I started using Terra Sigillata in oxidation, over the years I have tried various glazing techniques but always returned to work with Terra Sigillata and Saggar firing. I love the end results, and feel connected to the texture and surprising colorfulness. Some of my work was Raku fired and others using various primitive firing techniques. In addition, about 11 years ago, I have started to fire my work in a soda kiln, during the summers at the Harvard University’s Ceramic Studio. The results of these soda firings give yet another dimension of depth and texture to my work.
Mark Goudy (US) began exploring using soluble metal salts on low-fired porcelain clay two years ago, in collaboration with his wife, Liza Riddle, with whom he owns a ceramic art studio called Thundercloud. He had over ten exhibitions in the last two years.
My approach is to combine ancient methods of stone-burnishing and earthenware firing with computer-aided shape design to produce talismans that fuse traditional and modern aesthetics. Surface markings are created by painting water-soluble metal salts on bisque-fired clay. These watercolors permeate the clay body, and become a permanent part of the surface when fired. I have a strong affinity for intricate abstract patterns, ones that can’t be fully comprehended with a single glance, an invitation to in-depth exploration.
Roxanne Jackson (US) received her Master in Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2004. In the last years, she had many solo and group exhibitions in the US, Canada and Europe. She is an Assistant Professor of Ceramics and Sculpture at The State University of New York, Oswego, NY.
In my work, I explore images of extinction, death and transformation. I am fascinated with the natural processes of decay and destruction - particularly when in conflict with human systems. […] I allow room for intuition - rather than forcing the work to go in a particular direction. Art certainly has many roles - one is to depict and create beautiful objects. But that is not the only way art can serve us.
Margrieta Jeltema (IT) lives and works in Milan, Italy. She is a ceramic artist, writer, painter and eager photographer. Her works participated in numerous art biennales in Europe and are being displayed in collections in Europe, Chile and Korea.
Working with porcelain is really easy if you get a bit used to its terrible shrinking, its proneness to distortion, it’s tendency to collapse and its ability to ‘remember’. But there are also many advantages over other clays. It is easy to join dried pieces together, or repair a piece before baking. It is easy to glaze using a brush (saving on amounts of glaze), as most unevenness will disappear in the high temperatures. What I find really difficult is the handling of the folded ‘Loveletters’ when they are only bisque fired and still extremely fragile. Because I want to glaze them only on the backside, I have to turn them in some way. Eventually I solved this using a piece of light foam polystyrene, with which I can turn the letter like a omelet on a lid (some cooking experience helps a lot in ceramics).
Maciej Kasperski (PL) lives and works in Poland. He graduated from the Ceramics and Glass Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław in 1996. At present, he is a Tutor at the Ceramics Faculty of AFA in Wrocław, Poland. He exhibited in over thirty exhibitions in the last 10 years.
I am interested in the mutual relations between form and function of an object. It is connected with my belief in an exceptional aesthetic value of every-day items. Functionality comes for me as a starting point for analyzing an aesthetic form.
I aspire to make art understandable, if not on the level of rational or intelectual analysis, then at least on the level of feelings, senses or aesthetic pleasure.
Jim Kraft (US) is a successful ceramic artists based in Seattle, Washington. With over forty exhibitions being held over the last 20 years, his works are displayed in numerous public collections in the USA.
I enjoy working with the idea in mind of smaller parts making up the whole. Tiles covering a wall. Vessels made with coil and brick-like pieces, or cut and torn clay parts that make a vessel look basket-like. The vessel form appeals to me on a level that I don’t understand. It is a sort of mystery. When I am out in the world and see such a form I am immediately drawn to it. As much as I am concerned with surface texture it is ultimately the simple form of a vessel that appeals to my eye.
Cynthia Lahti (US) is one of the most renowned ceramic artists in Portland, OR, and had over thirty exhibitions in the last 20 years. Her most recent solo exhibition, “NURSE”, at pdx contemporary art, received great reviews.
My goal is to create works of art that resonate with honesty and reflect the beauty and chaos of the world. My art is influenced by human artifacts from ancient times to the present, as well as by my personal experiences and emotions. Like the varied objects I draw on for inspiration - from 1940s knitting catalogs and outsider art, to Native American cedar carvings and Degas’ sculptures of dancers - my artworks force an explanation of reality and compel viewers to connect to a larger human experience. I work in various media, including drawing, collage, and sculpture.
Claire Muckian (IE) received her BA (Hons) in Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Ulster, Belfast, in 2011. In 2010, she was accepted to undertake the Assistantship Programme at the International Ceramic Research Center, Guldagergaard, Denmark, and had two group exhibitions in Belfast.
Currently, the work centres on obscure, hidden and uncontrolled spaces that arise through the ceramic making process. I construct using fine hand-building techniques such as pinching and coiling to form thin walls. By making in this way, interesting spaces present themselves, whilst also highlighting the dialogue between the interior and exterior. Lattice-work (alternating bands of supports and rows) enables me to construct delicate structures that are at once open and closed. Often, I use motifs to denote meaning.
Connie Norman (US) was born in Japan and raised all over the world. She is a graduate of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and she has also studied ceramics in Tokoname, Japan. Her work has been shown nationally and juried into many national shows, including Strictly Functional - Ceramics USA, Origins in Clay and a solo exhibition at NCECA in 2006.
I am fascinated by the rhythmic qualities created by color, texture, and patterns. Decoration and the act of decorating are essential because it celebrates and enhances form and speaks purely of aesthetics. I use pottery as a vehicle to explore decoration and other formal questions. It allows me to investigate form, space and image. My attempt is to make the environment an expressive participant and to address the importance of aesthetics in our daily lives.
Liza Riddle (US) began exploring using soluble metal salts on low-fired porcelain clay two years ago, in collaboration with her husband, Mark Goudy, with whom she owns a ceramic art studio called Thundercloud.
I seek to create work that evokes a sense of wonder and mystery, forms that beckon to be held and admired. I delight in closely observing and then interpreting natural objects and events – weathered boulders on a mountain slope, wind ripples on a gray blue sea, complex designs on a delicate bird egg – their rhythms, patterns and forces have greatly inspired my work.
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CERAMICS NOW MAGAZINE 
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