260 FINGERS: TOP CERAMIC ARTISTS CONVERGE FOR EXHIBITION AND SALE

Maureen Marcotte
175
Third Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario
Opening/Vernissage:
Friday, November 11, 6-9pm
Saturday,
November 12 and Sunday, November 13, 10am-5pm
If BBC’s reality TV show The Great Pottery Throwdown, high-profile
art competitions like RBC’s Emerging
Artist Peoples Choice Awards
, and numerous prestigious international
ceramics competitions are any indication, clay is now being acknowledged as a valued
contemporary medium that is increasingly popular with artists, audiences and
collectors. Ceramic work has spread its wings and is catching some well-deserved
limelight! The ceramic world has become…well…something akin to sexy!
But this is something that the members of
260 Fingers have known for decades, and celebrating high-calibre ceramic work
is the reason this speacial exhibition and sale was established 12 years ago. This
November 11-13th, the twenty-six ceramic artists and potters of 260
Fingers 2016 will congregate at Ottawa’s Glebe Community Centre for their
annual exhibition and sale of some of the most inspiring and diverse ceramic
work from Ontario and western Quebec. The breadth and caliber of this show is recognized
as unique in the province and features work from functional to sculptural,
wood-fired to electric-fired, from formal, to functional, to highly decorative. 
The event features numerous award-winning
artists with international followings. This past
summer, among the 100 participating artists in the prestigious Biennial of
Ceramics in Taiwan, six were from Canada. Four of these six were our own 260
Fingers artists: Lisa Creskey, Paula Murray, Reid Flock, and Cynthia O’Brien
who travelled to Taiwan for the exhibition. Others have participated in
national and international residencies over the last few years. Still others have
had significant exhibitions locally and internationally. Each of the artists
views 260 Fingers as a welcome opportunity to present their newest and in many
cases, most daring or challenging work.
Each year new guests are invited to
participate to help keep 260 Fingers fresh. 
This year’s guests are Toronto potters Chiho Tokita, Loren Kaplan, Jeannie
Pappas and Heather Smit as well as Quebec artists Don Goddard and Marianne
Chenard.
On Friday, November 11, from 6-9pm, the
gorgeous, domed atrium of the Glebe Community Centre will open its doors to
visitors eager to be among the first to view and purchase this year’s new work.
The vernissage is open to everyone and is truly a festive celebration of
ceramic work complete with music, food, drink and lively conversation.  The show continues Saturday, November 12 and
Sunday, November 13 from 10am – 5pm. Artists will be present all weekend. Tours
of the show are each afternoon at 2pm and offer an opportunity to hear about
each artist’s unique work and processes and to ask any questions you may have
about their work and studio practice.
260 Fingers is a free event. For more
information please email [email protected]
or call Maureen Marcotte at 819-459-3164

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/260fingers

Zach Tate & Tom Bartel: Death and Taxes

July 9 – September 18, 2016 | Art League Gallery

Reception: September 2, 2016 | 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.


For over 25,000 years, the human figure has been represented in
ceramics. It is an inherently vital form and ideally suited for directly
expressing the human condition. It is also what lies at the
intersection of the work of artists Tom Bartel (Athens, OH) and Zach Tate
(Goshen, IN). Whether exploring the various stages of life or
subverting those in power, the figures they create ask us all to reflect
on life’s certainties.

Our new Constitution is now
established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this
world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
— Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789

 
 Tom Bartel (b. 1969, Cleveland, OH) is known for his
fragmented figures that take cues from a “shotgun blast” of influences
ranging from antiquity to current popular culture. He received his
M.F.A. from Indiana University-Bloomington. He has lectured, conducted
workshops and exhibited extensively throughout the United States and
internationally. His work is included in numerous public and private
collections, and has numerous publications to his credit, including
American Craft, Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, Ceramics Art and
Perception as well as many other periodicals and books. Bartel is
currently the Ceramics Area Chairperson and is an Associate Professor at
Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
tombartel.net
 

Zach Tate (b. 1985, Springfield, MO) is a figurative
sculptor and works at the University of Notre Dame as a visiting
lecturer for the Ceramics Department and as the executive director of
Goshen Youth Arts (a non-profit organization in Goshen, IN). He moved to
northern Indiana in 2013 after finishing his M.F.A. from Texas Tech
University. His work has been exhibited internationally, nationally and
regionally. Along with exhibiting his work, he has been a visiting
artist at several Universities and art centers around the world and
works as an author for several ceramics publications. His writings cover
experiences he has had organizing events, travelogues and exhibition
reviews.

www.zachtateceramics.com

www.southbendart.org/see/zach-tate-tom-bartel-death-taxes

South Bend Museum of Art
Century Center, 120 S St Joseph St, South Bend, IN 46601

Resident Artists Exhibition, Visiting Artists and 65th Anniversary Benefit Auction @ the BRAY

2016 Summer at the Bray
Resident Artists Exhibition
June 16–July 31, 2015
Reception: Thursday, June 16, from 6–8 pm
Bray Warehouse Gallery

Featuring work by resident artists:

Eliza Au, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Hannah Lee Cameron, North Carolina
Lily Fein, Newton, Massachusetts
Lauren Gallaspy, Athens, Georgia
Perry Haas, Geneva, Illinois
Claire Hedden, Normal, Illinois
Qwist Joseph, Fort Collins, Colorado
Yoonjee Kwak, Suwon, Korea
Heesoo Lee, Seoul, Korea
Steven Young Lee, Helena, Montana
Iva Milovanovic, Belgrade, Serbia
Richard Nickel, Norfolk, Virginia
Brooks Oliver, Dallas, Texas
Kyungmin Park, Seoul, Korea
Chris Riccardo, Helena, Montana
Melanie Sherman, Trier, Germany
Carly Slade, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Albion Stafford, Normal, Illinois
Michelle Summers, Portland, Oregon
John Souter, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Bill Wilkey, Mascot, Tennessee
Shiyuan Xu, Hangzhou, China

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*View a selection of artwork from the exhibition on the Bray’s website at archiebray.org beginning Friday, June 17.