by Carole Epp | May 4, 2018 | call for entry
PROPOSE A PRESENTATION FOR CLAYTOPIA, NCECA 2019
Claytopia, NCECA’s 53rd Annual conference takes place in Minneapolis, Minnesota
March 27-30, 2019. Several calls are now open. Proposals for Projects Space; Lectures, Panels, and Discussions; and Demonstrating Artists share a deadline of May 16, 2018 (11:59 pm EDT). Visit https://nceca.net/nceca-calls-and-exhibitions/ to see the full annual cycle of exhibition, conference programming, and opportunity calls for 2018-2019.
2019 NCECA ANNUAL EXHIBITION
ENTRY DEADLINE: Wednesday, June 20, 2018 (11:59 pm MDT)
The Form Will Find Its Way: Contemporary Ceramic Sculptural Abstraction, curated by Elizabeth Carpenter, will be hosted by the Katherine E. Nash Gallery within the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota. The exhibition will run from January 22 – March 30, 2019. Invited artists include Nicole Cherubini, Alexandra Engelfriet, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Brie Ruais, and Anders Ruhwald. NCECA encourages artists working with clay as a primary medium of expression to consider entering this exciting exhibition. Visit https://nceca.net/2019-nceca-annual/ to learn more about submission eligibility, procedures, and requirements.
The NCECA Annual blends impactful attributes of invitational and open juried models of exhibition development. The vision of a single curator generates an organizing concept for the exhibition and invites five leading artists in the field whose work serves to build out and expand on the exhibition’s conceptual framework. The curator then makes selections of additional works and artists for the exhibition through an open call for submissions.
Elizabeth Carpenter is an independent curator, writer, and educator. As curator of visual arts at the Walker Art Center from 2001-2015, some of her exhibition highlights included Frida Kahlo (2007); Robert Irwin: Slant/Light/Volume (2009); Hélio Oiticica / Rirkrit Tiravanija: Contact (2010); Absentee Landlord (2011), curated with filmmaker John Waters; Frank Gaard: Poison & Candy (2012); and Dance Works III: Merce Cunningham / Rei Kawakubo (2012). Prior to her role at the Walker, Carpenter served on the curatorial team responsible for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum exhibition, Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective (1997). In 2001, as guest curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings, she curated Jim Dine Prints: 1985 – 2000 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for which she also wrote and edited a catalogue raisonné of Dine’s graphic work. Carpenter’s writing has appeared in numerous exhibition catalogues and Art in Print.
Currently a lecturer in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota where she teaches art history and theory, Carpenter holds a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, MA in Art History from the University of Minnesota, and M.Phil. in Art History from the City University of New York Graduate Center (CUNY).
Carpenter shares…
With The Form Will Find Its Way: Contemporary Ceramic Sculptural Abstraction, I will be exploring experimental, cross-disciplinary, and aesthetically diverse artistic practices, with the explicit intention to avoid preconceptions about established categories like art and craft. My interest in ceramics launches from the modernist sculptural tradition. The works that I hope to select for the exhibition will tend toward a sculptural exploration of abstraction rather than traditional or functional ceramic objects and vessels.I am seeking to include artists who work in an interdisciplinary mode, not only in order to tap into ambiguity, disorder, entropy, and the uncanny, but also to challenge the plinth and the pedestal while embracing the possibilities of alternative installation strategies, and/or time-based media. Within the rubric of sculptural abstraction, I am especially interested in phenomenology—i.e., the tension and scale of objects in space; the impact of perception and bodily movement on the part of the artist while creating and the spectator while experiencing art; and performative strategies, processes, and outcomes.
There is no aim at being comprehensive—my selection of artists will be a sampling of current practices, and represents an attempt at a sustained consideration of one crossover tendency within the worlds of ceramics and contemporary art.
by Carole Epp | Mar 8, 2018 | Uncategorized
*works above by Katie Susko and Justin Rothshank
I’m super excited to announce that Musing About Mud is one of the many sponsors for the second installment of Growlerfest that will be on exhibit in Pittsburgh during NCECA. I was eager to work with Alexandra Jelleberg and Bradley Klem on this project as their vision for this event and exhibition aligns strongly with my beliefs of the value of handmade objects getting into the hands of new audiences. I’m passionate about projects that take pottery out of their usual gallery or domestic context and present them in new and interesting ways. Pottery, as many of artists and collectors know, has the power to effect change on our awareness of everyday objects and their value. Quality handmade ceramics are not only beautiful in their function, but also in their skilled execution, and ability to convey the vision, ideas and aesthetic leanings of the individual artist’s creative voice. Ever since Alexandra and Bradley began this project in 2015, I’ve been following along closely and am honored to be one of the participating artists. The collaborations that Growlerfest has established between artists, local breweries, and their patrons, is an innovative way to grow new audiences for ceramics. This year’s Growlerfest, in partnership with Brew House Association, is part invitation, part juried exhibition and all parts exceptional international ceramics. I hope to see lots of familiar and new faces at the reception in Pittsburgh. Let’s come together and raise a glass to how pottery (and beer) enriches our lives and experiences.
The Brew House Association, along with project coordinators Alexandra Jelleberg and Bradley Klem, are hosting GrowlerFest in Pittsburgh, PA. The NCECA Venue Originated Exhibition is comprised of an exhibition of beer growlers, jugs, and other containers used for storing or serving beer. The invited artists’ pieces will be complemented by juried selections through an open call. The Exhibition is free and open to the public.
A Special Reception & Beer Mixer will happen at the Brew House Association during the NCECA conference on Friday, March 16th 6-10pm. The exhibition entry is free and VIP tickets are $25 at the door, $20 in advance and includes a select draft pour & bar snacks, a special VIP tour of “The SpeakEasy Loft” with views of the Pittsburgh skyline, access to “The Distillery” with resident artist studios, & a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of several prizes. All proceeds from the event go towards supporting Brew House Association arts programming.
GrowlerFest will be at the Brewhouse Association, located at 711 South 21st St., Pittsburgh, PA, 412-381-2000. Open hours will be extended during the conference: Tue-Sat 11am-2pm, Saturdays 11am-2:30pm, or by appointment (10am-5pm).
Studio Potter Issue Launch: Join us 5:30 p.m., Friday, March 16th, at the Brew House Association in Pittsburgh to celebrate the launch of our upcoming issue, Volume 46, Number 1, Winter/Spring 2018, “Regional Perspectives and Pottery Tours”! Light refreshments will be provided, non-members can sign-up to receive a free, one-year, digital membership, and all attendees will be entered into a raffle for new SP logo merchandise, our new poster, print issues, and tickets to GrowlerFest (see below). Editor, Elenor Wilson, will speak briefly about new opportunities at Studio Potter, and will be available to answer questions about the organization and the journal.
GrowlerFest 2018 Invited Artists
Nicole Aquillano, Amanda Barr, Jessica Brandl, Tom Budzak, Ben Carter, Adriana Christianson, Blair Clemo, Carole Epp, Adam Field, Chase Gamblin, Perry Haas, Ayers Design: Meredith Host & Alex Watson, Michael Kline, Lorna Meaden, Didem Mert, Steve Theberge, Kyla Toomey, Mariko Paterson, Justin Rothshank, Liz Quackenbush, Gwendolyn Yoppolo
GrowlerFest Juried Artists
Michael Bishop, Paul Blais, Mike Bowen, Kathryn Davis, John Domenico, Ashley Gauntt, Brenna Gerlach, Jim Gottuso, Kyle Guymon & Melissa Yungbluth, Kevin Kowalski, Alex & Lisa LaPella, Ryana Lawson, Kristin Lemieux, Jenifer Levine, Mac McCusker, William Mueller, Sarah Newberry, Ashlyn Pope, John Reinking, Emma Rimi, Erin Robison, Alexandra Saunders, Jay Schmidt, David Smith, Katie Susko, Andrew Tarrant, Clive Tucker, Adam Yungbluth
projectart01026.com/growlerfest
www.instagram.com/growlerfest
by Carole Epp | Mar 8, 2018 | Uncategorized
(in)Visible is a show by the group “We Are Not Invisible,” a community of artists hoping to break the silence within our world, in particular the clay community, and engage in honest discussions and education about sensitive and often taboo topics, beginning with an exhibition during the 2018 NCECA (National Council on Education in Ceramic Arts) conference in Pittsburgh PA.
Our Statement – As the 2016 election year and beyond have highlighted, deep currents of belief, experience, and culture divide our world. This exhibition highlights female and gender non-binary artists working in ceramics, who in some way feel invisible to the dominant culture. These artists represent a marginalized group in the field, often unrecognized and belonging to specific groups of race, gender, culture, religion, and/or physical and mental illnesses (commonly termed as “invisible”). For each of us, art is our voice and our way to make seen and heard what we are all too often told to keep silent about.
What We’re Doing – (in)Visible is not simply a show. As part of NCECA 2018 we will be represented on two panel discussions, and have both Facebook and Instagram pages that feature artists from all media and genres beyond the original group in an effort to bring even more voices to the conversation.
The Show: NCECA 2018 Concurrent Exhibition: (in)Visible
Location: Braddock Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
February 2- March 17, 2018
reception March 16, 5-9pm
Braddock Carnegie Library 419 Library St, Braddock PA
hours: T — Th 11-8, M, F 10-5, Sat 9-4
The Panels: NCECA 2018
Thursday March 15, 1:15pm-2:45pm Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom A. PANEL: THE ART OF OTHERNESS, Moderaator: Courtney Leonard Panelists: Habiba El-Sayed, Mac McCusker, Raven Halfmoon. The Art of Otherness features the experiences of ceramic artists who face challenges of belonging to a marginalized culture through ethnicity, religion and gender identity. This panel seeks to challenge diversity, and offer real solutions in tackling cultural invisibility in the ceramic community.
Thursday March 15, 4:00pm-5:00pm 301-303. PANEL: UNSPOKEN, UNSEEN: INVISIBLE, Moderator: Sarah Jewell Olsen Panelists: Sara Morales-Morgan, Jamie Bates Slone, Ashleigh Christelis. Being a working artist is difficult enough without facing the social and personal obstacles of a mental or physical illness. This panel aims to end the stigma and silence and start a conversation about mental and physical health with the artistic community, out of the shadows of invisibility.
T-shirt’s! We have T-shirt’s! Thingsmadegood.threadless.com is helping us out with the design (above) and the shop.
Website: www.wearentinvisible.org
Instagram: @wearentinvisible
