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Justin Crowe


Closing Reception of Twenty, Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art

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The closing reception of TWENTY last Thursday was attended by a large crowd of enthusiastic students, faculty, and visitors to the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred University. Last Thursday’s celebration of the exhibition marked the museum’s twentieth year anniversary, though the collection began in 1900. Curators Dean Leslie Bellavance and Susan Kowalzyck, Museum Collections Manager, combed through this collection of about 8,000 ceramic pieces. They chose only two from each year since the museum’s inception. At its roots the selection process was shaped by simple criteria: that the group to be shown reflect the breadth of the museum’s collection, and that the pieces selected had not been exhibited at Alfred University before TWENTY. What resulted was a showcase of work dating from 2700 BCE to present, featuring Charles Fergus Binns, Eva Zeisel, Satoru Hoshino, Betty Woodman, Karen Karnes, Robert Sutherland, and others. Among these include faculty Linda Sikora, John Gill, and Anne Currier.



Museum hours are Wednesday-Friday, 10am to 4pm.

Table Space at Fosdick Nelson Gallery

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Last Friday marked the opening of Table Space a showcase of ceramic works curated by Linda Sikora and Albion Stafford. The show adresses the table as exhibition space, and features a number of noted ceramic artists and designers. Among the artists featured are Mark Pharis, Ole Jensen, and Lisa Orr.

The show will be up through December and gallery hours are Mon- Fri 11:00am- 4:00pm and Sat-Sun 1:00pm- 3:00pm















Anders Ruhwald and Marie T. Hermann Artists Talk Friday

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Anders Ruhwald and Marie T. Hermann will be speaking Friday October 21 at 12:00 in room C, Binns Merril Hall. Anders Ruhwald is an Artist-in-Residence and Head of Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Marie T. Hermann is currently an adjunct faculty member at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. Their exhibition 'Echo Chamber' opened yesterday at the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art. Don't miss this free lecture!

Look for a full writeup and photos of the exhibition next week.

"Weaving Form and Surface" at the Cohen Center

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“Weaving Form and Surface”, an exhibition of work by ceramic professor Andrea Gill, opened Wednesday October 19th at the Cohen Center on Main Street. The 4 pm reception was well-attended by faculty and students who were excited to see a glimpse of Gill’s work “behind-the-scenes”. Not only did the artist chose to exhibit a spread of artifacts used in her creative process (from glaze tests to musings), but the pieces displayed feature glazes and bodies not used before by her. Most are abstracted vessels that showcase bright and opaque to earthy and transparent colors. Her patterning in some instances hides itself in the shadows of recessed places or stand bright and obstinate on eye level platforms. A great opportunity to see a wider example of Andrea Gill’s work or to become familiar with the philosophy in practice of a mentor and respected Alfred icon, a visit to the Cohen Center is in your future. Exhibition runs until Friday December 2nd.

To make an appointment to view “Weaving Form and Surface” please contact Kevin Jacobs at jacobsj@alfred.edu.

-Olivia Hartwig




To accompany this post we've included Andrea's artists statement from the faculty website. Enjoy!



My personal vision as an artist has focused on a format that is admittedly ancient: I am passionate about pottery form as a site for personal expression. I have no excuse for this arcane practice. I have little interest in the functional debate, although I recently allowed a florist to fill a vase with an outrageous arrangement. I choose to make vases and bowls because those forms allow the most open interpretation of shape without losing the iconic identity of the object. The scale of the vases, from two to six feet, gives me room to explore color, shape and pattern. The bowls provide a more intimate space where I have been exploring narrative ideas, recently involving mythology.

My devotion to surface patterning has also proven to be an addiction that satisfies my love of stylized image and my firmly positive response to the word DECORATIVE. In the motifs of my overlaid figure/ground surfaces, I suspect I am often exploring my subconscious. The sources for the motifs range from my garden to doodles to texts of historical ornament, such as Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament.

Ceramics is the ideal media to combine surface color and three-dimensional form. There is the affirmation of historic precedence of the painted pot, and the possibilities of current clay and glaze technology to support my vision.



Mark Pharis, Ole Jensen and Howard Risatti Visiting Artists This Week!

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Mark Pharis, Ole Jensen and Howard Risatti will be visiting Alfred this week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning demos will be held in the new senior spaces in the basement of the Mcgee Pavilion. The demos will be accompanied by a lecture series. Each night at 7 we will hear from one of the visiting artists in Nevins Theater. See you all there!

Upcoming Visiting Artist Lecture

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Ceramic artists Shawn Murrey, Rebecca Chappell, and Michael Fujita will be giving a lecture on Monday November 28th at 4:30 in Binns-Merrill Hall Room C.  Each of the artists graduated from Alfred in 2008 with MFAs in ceramics.  Both Rebecca Chappell and Michael Fujita are residents at the Clay Studio in Philideplia.  Shawn Murrey is currently an adjunct professor in the School of Art and Design. The Lecture is free and open to the public. See you all there!


Live Auction!!!

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The Alfred Clay Collective will be hosting a live auction of student and faculty work on Thursday December 1 featuring auctioneer John Gill! Stop by and place your bids, the show opens for viewing at 4 pm and auction begins at 7pm. Events will be held in the new Robert C. Turner Gallery in the McGee Pavillion.

All purchases must be paid for with cash or check at the end of the evening.

Matt Kelleher Visit

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Matt Kelleher, sabatical replacement for next semester, will stop in Thursday December 1 for a very quick visit. Matt will be attending the Jr. pottery class and present a quick thirty minute slide presentation in the Scholes Library classroom at 1:30 pm. All are welcome to attend. Stop by, ask questions, and meet the newest Alfred faculty member!

Mike Helke and Justin Crowe at Red Star Studios

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If you're going to be in Missouri for the holidays check out Mike Helke (MFA 2011) and Justin Crowe (BFA 2011) at Red Star Studios. Both are featured in the exhibition "Black and White" along with five other artists from across the country. The opening reception took place December 2 and the show will run through January 21, 2012. 



Presentation by Ranti Tjan, director of EKWC: January 30th, 2012

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4pm, Room C, Binns-Merrill 
Presentation by:
Ranti Tjan
 director of ekwc
is an internationally renowned ceramic work centre where visual artists, designers, architects and other creative professionals can explore the artistic possibilities of ceramics. This is realised in three ways: through the artist-in-residence program, the centre-of-excellence and the FabLab.


Xu Bing comes to Alfred!

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Tomorrow, Mon. February, 6, Alfred will host Xu Bing, a renown Chinese print and installation artist. Xu Bing is a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing, where he currently serves as vice president. He is a McArthur Fellow, and has exhibited his works all over the world including the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington DC, the Joan Miro Foundation, Spain, the National Gallery of Prague and the 45th and 51st Venice Beinnale. His Lecture begins at 5:20 tomorrow evening in Holmes Auditorium, and is open to the public. We hope to see you all there!

Salem Art Works: Informational Presentation Feb 23

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Elena Zachary (BFA 2011) and a number of SAW residents will be on campus February 23, at 6:00pm to discuss internships, residency programs, workshops and upcoming events. The meeting is open to the public and pertains to artists in all media. SAW offers programs in painting, black smithing, foundry, glass blowing, ceramics, printmaking and photography. The presentation will be held at the foundry, and we encourage anyone applying for post college opportunities, as well as those looking for something to do over the summer to attend.

SAW also wants to spread the word about the April anagama kiln firing which runs from the 25th to the 29th.  Anyone may fire work in the kiln, but it must be cone 10 clay, either bisqued or bone dry, delivered to SAW by Friday April 20th.  There is a fee of 6 cents per cubic inch.  If anyone is interested in helping out for the firing, they are welcome to camp at SAW for $35 a night, which includes all meals.  Some campers may be available to stay in, otherwise there are tent platforms available.  Anyone interested in including work in the firing should contact Melissa Sclafani at melissa@salemartworks.com. And attend the February 23 meeting for more details.

Michael Ashley at Wellsville Creative Arts Center

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Alfred's own Michael Ashley will be offering a one day hands on workshop March ,3 11am-5pm at the Wellsville Creative Arts Center. Students will gain hands on experience transforming basic pottery forms into gestural, textural and functional works of art.

The class is free for students, $45 if tickets are purchased in advanced, and $55 regular. Please bring 3 wet pots and pottery tools.

Paul Eshelman Demo Next Week

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Paul Eshelman will be in Alfred next Monday March 19. Paul operates a pottery in rural Illinois. His simple cast forms showcase clay and glaze in an elegant frame for food and drink.



Demos begin Monday at 11:00 am in the McGee Flex Space behind senior ceramic studios with a break for lunch at 1:00, and start again at 2:00 pm and run until 4:00. The Demos will be followed by a slide lecture from 4:30-5:00pm. All events are free and open to the public. See you all there!

Stephen Merritt demos and lecture next week!

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Stephen Merritt will be here next Tuesday and Wednesday, doing demos in the flex space (located behind senior ceramic studio spaces) and a lecture in room C.

Mark Dion Visiting Artist Lecture October 17

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Mark Dion

Thinking in Three Dimensions 

Location: Holmes Auditorium Time: 7:15 PM - 9:00 PM
Sponsored By: The Dean of School of Art and Design, Visiting Artist Committee

 Mark Dion was born in New Bedford, MA in 1961. He received a BFA (1986) and an honorary doctorate (2003) from the University of Hartford School of Art, Connecticut. Dion's work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. The job of the artist, he says, is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention. Appropriating archaeological and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Dion creates works that question the distinctions between 'objective' ('rational') scientific methods and 'subjective' ('irrational') influences. The artist's spectacular and often fantastical curiosity cabinets, modeled on Wunderkabinetts of the 16th Century, exalt atypical orderings of objects and specimens. By locating the roots of environmental politics and public policy in the construction of knowledge about nature, Mark Dion questions the authoritative role of the scientific voice in contemporary society. Dion has had major exhibitions at the Miami Art Museum (2006); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2004); Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2003); and Tate Gallery, London.

Mark Dion will be vising Alfred University between October 16-18 and will be working on a print project with a group of student volunteers.

Linda Sormin, Solo Exhibition opening Friday Oct. 26 Jane Hartsook Gallery, New York,NY

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Howling Room, gl Holtegaard, Copenhagen, 2011 Photo: Anders Sune Berg

JANE HARTSOOK GALLERYpresents an installation by
LINDA SORMIN
Oct. 26 – Nov. 21, 2012
Artist Reception: Friday, Oct. 26, 6-8 pm

16 Jones Street, New York, NY 10014
 Hours: Tues. to Sat., 10 am - 4 pm, or by appointment:  

New York, NY – The Jane Hartsook Gallery is pleased to present Linda Sormin’s new work:

My voice changes when I speak your language
For her first solo exhibition in New York City, Sormin fills the gallery with intricate ceramic forms and invites an encounter with cultural and familial ghosts. Embroidering raw clay through objects she has found and re-purposed, Sormin uses this collection of material and things to enact stories of her ancestral Batak Indonesian past and experiences as an immigrant moving between cultures.


“Sormin practices the art of the slow burn – both literally… and also figuratively, in that her sprawling installations communicate a carefully controlled fury. It is a vivid, visual chamber music, in which not a single note of pragmatism, didacticism or functionalism can be heard… The visitor is encouraged to wander through this ceramic wonderland as if through an ancient forest.”
- Glenn Adamson

Artist Bio
Through objects and large-scale installations, Linda Sormin’s work explores issues of fragility, aggression, mobility and survival. Born in Bangkok, Sormin grew up in Canada and worked in community development for four years in Thailand and Laos. She studied literature and ceramics at Andrews University, Sheridan School of Craft & Design (Diploma ‘01) and Alfred University (MFA ‘03).
Sormin’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art (Bergen, Norway), Denver Art Museum (Denver, USA), gl Holtegaard (Denmark), Vallauris (France) and Middlesbrough (UK). She taught ceramics at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (Vancouver, BC) 2003-06 and at the Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI) 2006-11. She is currently Professor, Head of Ceramics at the Sheridan School of Craft & Design in Oakville, Canada.

For more information or images: www.lindasormin.com

For exhibition hours and all other inquiries contact: Adam Welch, Tel: 212.242.4106 ext. 22
16 Jones Street, New York, NY 10014

Hours: Tues. to Sat., 10 am - 4 pm, or by appointment:  

Program supported by the Windgate Charitable Foundation, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.


Andrew Martin: Visiting Artist October 28th-30th.

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Andrew Martin 


Andrew Martin is widely recognized for his work in slip casting and molds. After completing his undergraduate work in 1978 at the Kansas City Art Institute, Andrew received a Master of Fine Arts from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He is the recipient of two NEA Fellowships.  Spanning twenty-five years, Andrew's career includes teaching mold and slip casting workshops. He wrote The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting and currently lives in California.

This Sunday, he will be doing demos from 9 -12 in the Flex space (behind senior studios) and a lecture at 1:15 in Binns Merrill Room C (with demos to follow in Flex Space). Monday, demos 9-12 and 1-5 in Flex space. Tuesday he will be doing group critiques. Sign ups will be outside the ceramic bathrooms. 

Sponsored by NYSCC and Alfred Clay Collective

"Fascination of Decay" Opening at Cohen Gallery November 9

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Fascination of Decay 

Curated by Kate Roberts

Friday, Nov. 9 - Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012
The Cohen Gallery
 55 N. Main St., Alfred.
Opening Reception:
Nov. 9 from 6-8 p.m. 
gallery talk at 7 p.m.

Featuring work by ceramicists Walter McConnell, Kate Roberts, and Lee Somers, and painter Alexis Grabowski. All of the artists are Alfred University alumni. 

Based on a book of the same title depicting how artists throughout history have found inspiration in ancient ruins, the gallery show will focus on how contemporary artists are fascinated with today’s ruins.

Press Release

For the curator's statement and more images, read more....

Kate Roberts

Curator's Statement


            Fascination of Decay explores the question “What are the contemporary ruins of today?”  The show is based on the 1968 book of the same title describing how artists have found inspiration in decay for centuries.  Author Paul Zucker begins by explaining a ruin: 

A ruin exists in a state of continual transition caused by natural deterioration, specific catastrophes, or other circumstances.  But the changing concept of the ruin is based not only on its objective appearance, but is equally dependent on the individuality of the beholder.  His reaction will reflect his emotional attitudes, his cultural and intellectual level; but, even more, the prevalent concepts of his time: the “ Zeitgeist.”

Contemporary artists Alexis Grabowski, Walter McConnell, Kate Roberts, and Lee Somers construct explorations into the acceptance of 21stcentury decay. 
           
            The work presented in the show gives a complete definition of decay and the ruin.  Each piece adds to the continuous story that Zucker is inferring when he states that ruin is something that is constantly changing and in turn allows the artist to arrive at a personal connection. McConnell begins the story in his piece Untitled.  The work is in a state of slow erosion as air slowly comes into contact with the piece.  Grabowski overexposes the viewer to the abundance of decay in urban and rural areas in which she once and currently resides.  Roberts touches on the fragile nature of decay and our eventual need to accept it.  Lastly, by repurposing wood from old pianos, Somers references a form of erosion in his piece Soundscape.  In showcasing different veins of decay, “Fascination of Decay” becomes the modern addendum to Zucker’s book and the “Zeitgeist” of the 21st century.




                                                                                                            KateRoberts
                                                                                                            Curator



Zucker, Paul.  Fascination of Decay.  Ridgewood, New Jersey:  The Gregg Press.  1968.  Print.
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