“The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell” at Sculpture Space NYC Projects

Sculpture Space NYC Projects is
pleased to present The Pretty Things Are
Going To Hell, a group exhibition featuring recent sculptural ceramics by
five New York-based artists: Veronica Frenning, Trevor King, Toshiaki Noda,
Sang Joon Park, and Patrice Renee Washington. 

The
Pretty Things Are Going To Hell honors the idea of a non-utilitarian,
non-traditional vision and experimental approach toward clay. The common
denominator of this show is that each artist in his or her own particular way
explore the simplicity and anomalies that arise from the process, and rethink
the aesthetic values, and ideals of beauty and perfection.

Veronica Frenning works
organically, shaping clay into found objects and presenting these finds as
specimens.  Frenning’s pieces blur the lines between traces of industry,
weathered manmade remnants and fragments of nature.

Trevor King’s Aluminum series
articulates the mysterious inner spaces of ceramic vessels. The works are made
in a series of steps that involve throwing a clay vessel and then using the
thrown pot as the vehicle to cast its own shape.   A wax form made of
the pot’s inside is then cast in aluminum, capturing evidence of throw lines,
or fingerprints made from pushing clay up as it spins on the wheel.  The
resulting objects appear as materials in flux – melting, pouring, drying, and
dissolving.

Toshiaki Noda’s works are
created on the wheel and altered so that the clay reveals its responses to the
gesture marks left by Noda’s hands. The exaggerated surfaces and entire shapes
are formed while manipulating the clay’s centrifugal force into Noda’s
aesthetic form.

Sang Joon Park has the
foundations of a trained traditional Korean potter.  Through the
repetition of throwing clay vessels, Sang Joon takes collectively thousands of
bowls and transforms them into sculptural towers. 

Patrice Renee Washington
creates relationships within the “realm of cultural space,” setting
up scenarios between objects that are seemingly functional whilst addressing
concepts of the “primitive and modes of convenience.”

Sculpture Space NYC is a
ceramics and sculpture center designed to foster creativity, concept and
collaboration. SSNYC’s intent is to be a resource for artists, providing space,
equipment, advanced education and opportunities for exhibitions and
residencies. New York City based artists Andrew Kennedy and Magda Dejose founded
SSNYC in 2014.