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“Glazescape (White No. 2)” by Lauren Mabry on display Sept. 8 in The Gallery at UTA. Marbry is one of fifteen ceramic sculptors featured in the exhibit.
Various contemporary ceramic pieces rest Sept. 8 in The Gallery at UTA. Yana Payusova and Nicholas Wood, UTA art and art history assistant professor and professor , co-curated the exhibit.
“Glazescape (White No. 2)” by Lauren Mabry on display Sept. 8 in The Gallery at UTA. Marbry is one of fifteen ceramic sculptors featured in the exhibit.
Tucked in the corner of the Fine Arts Building is an art gallery currently housing fifteen well-known and emerging names in contemporary clay sculpting.
With mixed medium pieces, and innovative, original work, the exhibit is entirely unique and curated by Yana Payusova and Nicholas Wood, UTA art and art history assisstant professor and professor respectively.
The exhibit, titled “Reminiscing the Now: Directions in Contemporary Clay,” is meant to challenge the audience’s perceptions of clay and what it can be, said Payusova, assistant chair of the art department and art history and area coordinator for painting.
“I feel like we live so much in the future. We're very future-oriented, and sometimes we don't stop to see what's in front of us,” Payusova said. “And so, to me, [it’s] this idea of looking at the work artists are making today and celebrating that and recognizing the work.”
With the number of possible techniques and styles, dried mud can become something entirely unexpected. Showcasing the medium also highlights the vivid history of clay and clay art.
The oldest ceramic artifact discovered is a statuette of a woman, named the Venus of Dolní Věstonice. It is estimated to have been created as early as 28,000 BCE in a small prehistoric settlement in the Czech Republic, according to The American Ceramic Society.
The manipulation of clay and subsequent creation of the ceramics industry even predates the invention of the wheel, which was a real game changer for prehistoric potters in 3,500 BCE.
Despite being one of the oldest art forms, today’s artists are still finding ways to innovate and add new perspectives, said Payusova.
The exhibition was commissioned by the art department in an effort to expose people to ceramic art, said Wood.
Various contemporary ceramic pieces rest Sept. 8 in The Gallery at UTA. Yana Payusova and Nicholas Wood, UTA art and art history assistant professor and professor , co-curated the exhibit.
The exhibit showcases many artists, including Nick Lenker, utilizing many different techniques.
Lenker hand builds his statues to achieve the low-quality, low-rendered look of a video game avatar.
He uses a technique called decal ceramic printing, which prints digital images on ceramic using underglazes and china paints, dry powders mixed with oil. After printing, the object is inserted into a kiln for firing, Payusova said.
Clay is also a decidedly durable medium, said Payusova. It can withstand extreme sunlight, rain, snow and is even spun into an extreme heat resistant fiber used by NASA .
Artist Lauren Mabry utilizes this durability and versatility to challenge the traditional process of glazing.
“Usually glazes are put on something to protect it and seal it, so glazes usually are just this thin, fired skin on the clay, so [it’s] essentially glass,” said Wood.
Mabry experimented with the chemistry of the glazes that contrasts traditional ceramic methods, Wood said.
But the exhibit curators, Payusova and Wood, said the project had its fair share of challenges.
Having to make decisions about which artists to include, how to ship huge pieces of breakable ceramic and porcelain and even choosing pieces they felt would both mesh with the exhibit and be juxtaposed with other pieces at an intriguing level was difficult, said Wood.
The UTA arts professors also said they had to ensure the show was constructed in a way that flows naturally, Payusova said.
“We're looking at color. We’re looking at form. We're looking at lack of color. We're considering figurative work with work that's more subtle and abstract,” Payusova said.
Business junior Sarah Jonson said she was surprised at how each artist has such a varied interpretation of the medium.
Jonson’s favorite piece was “Fish in Gelatin,” a layered porcelain piece by Janice Jakielski.
Jakielski used an intricate layering process to create her art. Rolling out pieces of porcelain until they are paper-thin, she then painstakingly attached each piece to create a finished artwork.
Payusova wanted students to know art isn’t something people get a degree in and then cease to progress. It is an ongoing conversation that requires artists to better themselves to stay in.
“I feel like being able to stay open, to follow trends, but also have your own vision – that's a continuous practice,” Payusova said. “And that's something we tried to translate to the students as well.”
The exhibit will be up, every weekday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Gallery at UTA located inside the Fine Arts Building.
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