Contemporary Ceramics

Contemporary Ceramics

Last Wednesday I attended a lecture by Marek Cecula on contemporary ceramics. It was a whirlwind survey of current ceramic work. He showed about 200 images in an hour and a half. Included were a few of his own pieces, like his Random Series cups, where the cups are slip cast porcelain and are all of the same shape, but each one is different in that there is a random 3 digit number printed on each.

It would seem that his lecture was a review of the exhibition Object Factory, that he curated in 2009 for the Museum of Art and Design, which their website states is, "A groundbreaking exhibition documenting contemporary innovation in industrial ceramic production and the renaissance of ceramics in art and design today." The majority of the work that he showed was either re-purposed and altered ceramic pieces or slip cast porcelain. He seemed like a cheerleader for post-modernism (or is it post-post-modernism?). He was so excited by the variety of work being made right now, and by the intersection of old and new technology. He kept saying that, "You could do anything you want." It was very inspiring, and made me want to get back into doing ceramics.

Some of my favorite pieces were:

Robert Dawson Willow Pattern with Uncertainty

Robert Dawson's piece about our uncertainty with China, where the image blurs from one side of the plate to the other.

Khashayar Naimanan

Khashayar Naimanan's pieces about concealed wealth, where he put the hallmark for the china on the top and the decorations on the bottom.

Emiko Oki Trophy Tableware

This piece by Emiko Oki is seven separate pieces that when stacked together form a trophy. An interesting way of having it exist as a decorative object when not in use.

Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow +/- Hot Plate

And these hot plates that have heat conductive patterns printed on them, and can be plugged into a 12v battery.