So much going on at the University of Manitoba – Visiting Artitsts and NEW MFA PROGRAM

by Carole Epp | Feb 22, 2010 | Uncategorized

February 25 | 6 pm
Ceramics Studio
Artist’s Talk
Xanthe Isbister’s visit is sponsored by the Ceramics Club.
There is no cost to attend the lecture – everyone is welcome. Xanthe Isbister will be presenting a lecture on her large scale ceramic sculpture and installations. Her current work explores the psychological significance and impact the natural environment has on human identity. “Much of the human search for a coherent and fulfilling existence is intimately dependent upon our relationship to nature”. The wilderness landscape has had a profound effect on her creative work and detachment from the wilderness has created a need for her to make work in response to this separation. Xanthe Isbister received her MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2008, and her BFA Honors at the University of Manitoba in 2004. In 2005 Isbister was awarded the Lila Acheson Wallace Readers Digest Scholarship from the University of Manitoba, and was a Hixson-Lied Fellow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Other awards include two summer residencies at Watershed Center for Ceramic Art, in New Castle, Maine. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally, most recently at the 2009 NCECA conference in Phoenix, AZ.

February 25 | 6 pm
Ceramics Studio
Artist’s Talk
Koi Neng Liew

Koi Neng Liew will be presenting a lecture on his figurative ceramic
sculpture. The concepts of his characters are derived from the examination of
fascinating individuals he has met in recent years. He transforms each character by distilling prominent aspects of their personality; exaggerated proportions, obscure objects and gestures personify each characters disposition. One of Liews reoccurring characters, Rabbit Man, was conceived as an alter ego of Liew, who was born in the year of the rabbit, based on the Chinese
Koi Neng Liew is originally from Singapore. He received his MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and his BFA from Alfred University. Liew
was the Taunt Fellowship recipient at the Archie Bray Foundation in 2005,
and most recently was a 2008-2009 grant recipient at the Roswell Artist In
Residence Program in New Mexico.
He has been exhibiting both nationally and internationally since 1999, and was recently a featured artist in the Clay In Art International Yearbook, published by Kostas Tarkasis in Athens, Greece
Koi Neng Liew’s visit is sponsored by the Ceramics Club.
There is no cost to attend the lecture – everyone is welcome.

ALSO **** NEW MFA PROGRAM IN CERAMICS!
(So amazing to see especially when so many craft programs are under threat)

It is with great pleasure that we announcing that the School of Art at the University of Manitoba is accepting applications for graduate study commencing in the 2010-2011 school year! Please note that we are relaxing the March 1 application deadline for this year, and will review materials throughout the summer. We will be looking for one or two students for the first year of this two-year program. We do not have a particular kind of artist in mind, but are more interested in finding students who are talented, hard-working, and interested in finding their unique voice as ceramic artists. We stress hard work, production, craft, and a high level of critical analysis and the importance of contextualizing one’s work in light of current discourse. Students here produce functional pots, vessels, and sculpture, alongside works of a more experimental nature such as installation, serialism, mixed media, and performative and temporal works. We also make forays into the realm of architectural ceramics and ornament. Our undergraduates have a record of getting into top graduate programs and of exhibiting actively both in school and after graduation. We hold similar expectations for our graduate students. The ceramics area at U of M is a lively and dynamic work environment in a 13,000 square foot, purpose-built facility. Students have 24 hour studio access and the campus is in a secure, suburban location in South Winnipeg. We have a long-standing and active record of hosting nationally and internationally-known artists, including hosting the 1000 Miles Apart conference every four years, and our Summer Studio Residency. We also host a monthly lecture series in the department wherein topical presentations are given by artists and scholars. The facility is very well equipped, and we have been actively rebuilding kilns and purchasing new equipment to keep everything up to date. Last year, we rebuilt one of our gas car-kilns, and are starting the construction of a new indoor soda kiln right away. In the spring, we will rebuild our wood kiln, which is fired three to four times per term. We have six electric kilns ranging from very small up to twelve cubic feet, and are replacing three of those this winter, including the purchase of a front loading Bailey electric kiln! The kiln room was recently fitted with a new exhaust system with forced fresh air heating. Other facility highlights include a well stocked materials room, and a ventilated clay mixing room with two Soldner mixers, a raw material crusher, and a blunger. New for this spring will be two Lehman slip mixing tanks and a second pugmill. There is a dedicated plaster mold-making room and a well stocked glaze lab as well. All of this is kept running and well stocked by our excellent full time technician, Terry Hildebrand. Along with teaching and keeping on top of all the great extra curricular programming, we have both been very busy with exhibitions and studio production. Grace recently spent time in China and Australia, and is exhibiting in Korea and was invited to the NCECA Biennial in Philadelphia. Steve just returned to teaching after a research leave and exhibited in Phoenix for the NCECA conference in 2009, and will also show at the 2011 conference in Tampa, along with recent showings in Chicago, Massachusetts, and New York. Please feel free to send this letter to any current or former students who you think would be a good candidate for graduate study at U of M. Also, do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions. Thank You, Steve and Grace Professor Stephen Grimmer, Area Head of Ceramics 203 FitzGerald Building University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 (204) 474-9560 [email protected] http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/blogs/grimmer Grace Nickel, Instructor in Ceramics University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 (204)474-8318 [email protected] http://gracenickel.ca/ School of Art Web Page: http://www.umanitoba.ca/schools/art/index.php (Look under Future Students tab for application materials.)