Fiat Ignis III: Let There Be Fire is on view at Gallery 60 NYC, New York
December 6-27, 2025
Fiat Ignis III: Let There Be Fire is a group exhibition shaped as much by process as by outcome.
Hosted by Gallery 60 NYC in collaboration with the New England Wood Firing Conference, the show brings together twelve ceramic artists whose works emerge from the shared intensity of wood firing—an approach defined by time, presence, and unpredictability.
Wood firing is a slow and demanding practice. Over many days and nights, a kiln is fed continuously with wood, allowing flame, ash, and heat to move freely across the surfaces of the work. No two pieces come out the same. Each carries marks that cannot be fully planned or reproduced, recording both intention and chance, control and surrender. The results are varied: subtle shifts in surface, bold ash deposits, moments of roughness, quiet softness, or unexpected beauty.
Entering the gallery, the first impression is one of quiet attention. The works do not rush toward the viewer; instead, they invite a slower pace to move around, pause, and look closely. Many of the pieces carry a strong sense of touch. Surfaces hold marks of the hand, traces of pressure and repetition. Some forms feel dense and grounded, while others appear lighter, almost tentative. As the viewer moves through the space, these contrasts become more noticeable and the differences are felt immediately.
Rather than presenting a single narrative, the exhibition offers a series of encounters. Some works lean toward functional forms while others move more freely into sculptural expressions. Rather than opposing one another, function and aesthetics exist side by side, each informing the other. A cup, a jar, or a sculptural form all hold the same evidence of fire, material, touch, and attention. From a distance, there is a sense of rhythm and balance; up close, surfaces reveal layers of decision, accident, and response. Weight and fragility sit next to one another; natural, organic effects sit alongside deliberate gestures of the human hand; pieces are given space. Each work seems to carry its own mood and pace, yet together they create a gentle cohesion.
Time is present everywhere in the work—not only in the long firing process, but in the accumulated knowledge, patience, and dedication behind each piece. The surfaces feel lived-in rather than finished, as if they continue to hold memory and dream. For some artists, this aligns closely with ideas found in traditions such as wabi-sabi, where imperfection, impermanence, and even brokenness are understood as part of continuity rather than flaws to be corrected. What remains visible is not perfection, but honesty.
Although each artist brings a distinct energy and approach, the exhibition resists hierarchy. Fiat Ignis III is not about individual achievement so much as shared experience. Wood firing depends on cooperation—people working in shifts, tending the fire, responding together to what the kiln asks for. That sense of working alongside one another carries into the exhibition. The works feel connected, not because they look alike, but because they come from a common effort.
The participating artists—Pascal Chmelar, Gabriel Cordero, Dan Christoffel, Claire Engelhardt, Yuri Gershtein, Mandy Henson, Shinobu Habauchi, Frank Olt, Brendan Shanahan, Kiichi Takeuchi, Riley Walzer, and Trevor Youngberg—form a diverse group, each contributing a personal voice while remaining part of a larger whole. Differences are not smoothed over; they are celebrated. The exhibition holds a wide range of tempos, textures, and intentions, allowing individuality to exist comfortably within a shared ground.
Fiat Ignis III: Let There Be Fire feels less like a statement and more like a gathering, moving through a communal landscape shaped by fire, labor, and trust. Working closely with Kiichi Takeuchi, Director of Gallery 60 NYC, we were ourselves fascinated by how these ceramics inhibit the space: how they occupy the room, how they ask to be viewed from multiple angles, how they change as the viewer moves… At its heart, the exhibition encourages slowing down, observing relationships, allowing impressions to form naturally, and remembering the quiet generosity of work made together.
Contact
gallery60nyc@gmail.com
Gallery 60 NYC
208 E 60th St
New York, NY 10022
United States
Photo credit: Bing Lu
