Entwined: Bethany Krull and Jesse Walp @ Indigo Art

by | Apr 23, 2017 | Uncategorized

ENTWINED

“We met twelve years ago in art school and since that time, our lives and our artistic practices have ebbed and flowed and intertwined.  Over the years we have often had the opportunity to make sculpture side by side in shared studios, and this closeness led us to create work that, at times, has been both conceptually and formally tied with our respective works each containing influences of the other’s. The relatively new role we now share as parents has brought us together in a much more profound way, where in both life and art, we are not just influencing each other, but truly collaborating.

Jesse Walp

“The aim for my sculpture has always been for it to feel as if imbued with life, like it has grown into existence of its own volition.  These forms suggest plant growth and also borrow from the animal realm with outstretched stems, plump clusters, and layered segments.  As I create these pieces, I am inspired by thoughts of the internal energies and processes that bring natural forms into being, and hope these works promote exploration and elicit discovery.  As a man who spent his childhood in a home built deep in the woods, I feel an urgent need to foster in my children an understanding of how compelling, beautiful and complex nature is, especially because their early years are being spent in a house, on a postage stamp yard, within a concrete landscape.  Though squeezed within the confines of the built environment, the dandelions pushing up through the cracks in the sidewalk, the rolly pollies underneath the rock in the backyard, and the decaying log in the park still play a very significant role in their understanding of the natural world.”

Bethany Krull

“The influence of motherhood has made its mark on my work, and the animal figure has become much more personally symbolic to me since I have had children. The hungry baby bird, and the furless and helpless newborn mouse perfectly embody this season of my life, where nurturing and protection are paramount.  Explorations of the beauty, vulnerability and fragility of the natural world, and our species influence on its degradation go hand in hand with a desire to shelter my children and to ensure their blissful ignorance as they are threatened by countless dangers.  Concerns about the morality of our politics, the health of our environment, and our own species’ ultimate survival are amplified when they are seen as a reflection in the eyes of our children.”

Show is up April 21 – May 27 @ Indigo Art in Buffalo NY

 

 

The 31st Annual 30 Ceramic Sculptors Exhibition

by | Apr 14, 2017 | Uncategorized

Margaret Keelan “Pose with Dog” glaze with clay

April 18th-May 13th, 2017
Opening Reception Friday April 28th, 7pm-10pm

The John Natsoulas Center for the Arts will hold its 31st annual gallery-wide 30 Ceramics Sculptors exhibition in concurrence with the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Arts (CCACA). The exhibition will run from April 18th to May 13th, 2017. This show was first conceived in 1986, a collaboration between the late Robert Arneson and John Natsoulas, and continues the ceramic traditions made famous by instructors and students of the University of California, Davis Art Department and the University of California at Berkeley.

Since its inception over three decades ago, the 30 Ceramic Sculptors annual exhibition has grown congruently with the ceramic art world in Northern California. Decades ago there were few major ceramic programs at the Junior, City and State College levels. Today we are experiencing a sculptural renaissance in the ceramics programs of Northern California – new and exciting ceramic sculptors are becoming established.

30 Ceramic Sculptors is the largest annual exhibition of ceramic artists where you can see every variation of ceramic sculpture imaginable. This survey of ceramic sculptors includes everything from figurative to abstract, monolithic to miniature all in one place.
Explore the exhibition and you will discover work as varied as the minds who made it. Some work gives homage to the earth, source of clay, with raw organic texture and emphasis on mass, volume, and dynamic thrust while industrial processes have become the emphasis for others. The 31st annual 30 Ceramic Sculptors brings together an impressive group of ceramic artists with practiced rooted in diverse cultures, experiences and education from around the world.

In conjunction with the 31st annual 30 Ceramic Sculptors annual exhibition is the 29th annual CCACA. This conference brings the
ultimate ceramic sculpture event to Davis, CA from April 28th – April 30th, 2017. In an intimate setting, you can interact with top artists
in a way not possible at other venues. Enjoy delightful downtown Davis and be inspired by nationally recognized ceramic art talents. With over 40 participating schools from throughout California, CCACA is one of the largest and most diverse ceramic events in Northern California. Demonstrations, lectures and student exhibitions—no other event delivers more inspired knowledge of ceramic sculpture for a better price. Meet face-to-face with distinguished ceramic sculptors you might only read about; see and hear from the artists what makes them top in their field. This is a chance to surround yourself with the top ceramic art and artists of today and the ideas of the artists of tomorrow.

Press Contact: Nancy Resler [email protected] 530-756-3938
More information: http://natsoulas.com/

guest post: Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Celebrates 17 Years.

by | Apr 4, 2017 | Uncategorized

Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery-Galerie
April 2017 – Thank you!

By Jonathon Bancroft-Snell

“It’s hard to believe that it has been seventeen years since the gallery opened on April 6th, 2000. There was little inventory and a huge space yet I decided I was going to specialize in Canadian art. Boy, was I an innocent abroad. An interesting thing about naivete is it can propel you in a way that only those willing to accept an empirical approach can understand. Looking back if I had known what I was getting myself into I may have chosen a retail job at Sears. Instead I opted for the rollercoaster ride of my life.

The Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery has evolved into Canada’s leading national gallery focusing on ceramic art. The exhibition that most defines the gallery is Matter of Clay held every five years in August. The initial Matter of Clay exhibition, held in 2001, was the first major national exhibition held in decades. Planning the exhibition is where my naivete really came into play. I looked at pictures and sent letters to artists whose work appealed to me. I was fortunate to have Ontario artist Shirley Clifford act as my guide, Soon I had acceptances from across the country from icons such as Ann Mortimer, Walter Dexter, Goyer-Bonneau, Karen Dahl, Reed Weir, and Peter Powning to name a few. The exhibition was a huge success. During an introspective post-analysis I was struck by how Canada’s biggest ceramics stars had agreed to participate. I was a nobody and totally unknown yet I’d had success in attracting major artists to participate. I made a choice. The gallery was going to focus on promoting ceramic art in Canada.

Over the years there have been solo shows, group shows, themed shows and retrospectives. The difficulty with identifying highlights is akin to choosing a favourite child. Each year has been an incredible gift with every show feeling like a kiln opening. The crates would arrive and opening them provoked a chorus of oohs and aahs and the occasional expletive when a piece arrived broken. Over all it was always a magical experience that would play out over and over when people arrived at the opening. It is rewarding to see ceramic artists treated like rock stars by collectors appreciative of their work.

 

 

Seventeen years to look back on in a long time. There are however two shows that really stick out in my mind. The first was Walter Dexter’s solo show in August 2007. The show featured his Torso vases, a body of work begun in 1996, arguably his most significant body of work. It was a culmination of a long and illustrious career. I can still hear him saying to me in January of 2007, “I guess we’d better do this while I’m still alive to enjoy it.” He enjoyed it! The show was magic and attendance opening night was a who’s who of ceramic glitterati.

The second show was ‘Upstarts’ in 2010 featuring work by the frontrunners in the clay arts movement in Canada. These were the artists, still living, born before 1940. The artists who went on to teach, influence, and inspire subsequent generations of ceramicists. There were twenty-four artists in the show. A bittersweet, yet illuminating, memory of the exhibition was Roman Bartkiw’s acceptance. He was thrilled to be asked and included in an exhibition that as he put it ‘includes so many of my friends’. Sadly, Roman passed away the same day of a heart attack, a poignant reminder of the reality that these were Canada’s senior artists. Since 2010 John Chalke, Walter Dexter, Dean Mullavey, Maurice Savoie and Tom Smith have also passed away. Many of the others have retired from making.

I have been so privileged to have had the opportunity to meet so many extraordinary artists. Their legacy is incredible. I have also been fortunate that since 2004 Brian Cooke, my gallery manager, has exhibited the same passion for Canadian ceramics as me. In January 2018 at the Tom Thomson Gallery in Owen Sound he will be curating “Anatomy of a Collector’ featuring selections from nine ceramic collections.

Owning a ceramic gallery is, in some ways, like being a maker. You never know what new surprises await when you open the door. To everyone who has created and supported the gallery I just want to say; “Thanks!” ~ Jonathon

jonathons.ca