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SPOTLIGHT CERAMICS
SOFA CHICAGO 2007: www.sofaexpo.com
NOV. 2 – 4, FESTIVAL HALL, NAVY PIER
OPENING NIGHT MISE EN SCÈNE: NOV. 1
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SOFA CHICAGO 2007, the 14th annual international exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art, returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, Nov. 2–4 to present masterworks bridging design and fine art from 100 international galleries and dealers and 18 countries.
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Aliza Olmert |
Seven special exhibits from around the world include commissioned ceramic vessels designed by 135 prominent Palestinian and Israeli painters, sculptors and photographers on the theme of reconciliation, including photographer Aliza Olmert, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Offering Reconciliation is presented by the Parent’s Circle Families Forum (PCFF), which consists of several hundreds of bereaved families, half Palestinian and half Israeli, who have all lost immediate family members due to the violence in the region. As a finale to the exhibition’s international tour that included the World Bank and United Nations, SOFA will host a live auction of the vessels on November 3, with pre-bidding online beginning in September; all proceeds will support PCFF programs in Israeli and Palestinian communities.
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Philippe Boulakia |
Offering Reconciliation is co-presented by the Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts (AIDA), which will for the 5th straight year mount a curated exhibit entitled Memories and Perception at SOFA of contemporary decorative artwork by artists currently living in Israel.
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William/Bill Daley |
Another special exhibit featuring ceramics is Legends: Watershed Artists Honor Artists. Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, ME presents works by legendary ceramic artists Bill Daley, Karen Karnes and John Mason, in honor of their contributions to the field. Janet Koplos, Senior Editor, Art in America will make an accompanying Lecture Series presentation entitled What Makes Them Great?
Plan now to attend Watershed’s Inaugural Ceramics LEGENDS Award Gala during SOFA CHICAGO on Friday, Nov. 2 in the Ballroom of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Gala honors Daley, Karnes and Mason and proceeds support Watershed Center for the Arts’ artist residency programs. Cocktails at 7 pm and dinner at 8 pm. Table & individual seating available: Sponsor Table - $2,400; Patron Table - $3,600; Benefactor Table - $6,000. Sponsor Seats - $200; Patron Seats - $300; Benefactor Seats - $500. For tickets contact Jeniffer Cooley at T. 207-882-6075 or Email info@watershedceramics.org
SOFA CHICAGO’s Lecture Series features internationally renowned curators, scholars and artists in 31 presentations, and is widely considered the largest and most distinctive forum at an art fair dedicated to exploring both the works on display and worldwide trends in today’s art scene.
In an accompanying Lecture Series presentation to Offering Reconciliation the creators discuss art as a vehicle for social change, focusing on the exhibit’s goal of creating a public dialogue on reconciliation. Featured will be Ali Abu Awwad, Palestinian Member of Parents Circle-Families Forum, Orna Tamir Schestowitz, designer, artist, curator; Rivka Saker, Sotheby’s Israel/Europe; Board Member AIDA, Parents Circle-Families Forum; Robi Damelin, Israeli Member of Parents Circle-Families Forum, moderated by Polly Ullrich, independent art critic & curator.
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Kazuhiko Miwa |
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Rudy Autio Showtime, 2000 Ceramic Duane Reed Gallery |
A lively dialogue offering academic insights on collecting the best in the ceramics market—what to look for, where to look, and why this work remains seductive and provocative to artists and collectors world over is the lecture, Towards Collecting Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, featuring Kazuko Todate, Chief Curator, Tsukuba Museum of Art, Ibaraki, Japan; and Beatrice Chang, co-author, Fired with Passion: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, owner, Dai Ichi Arts, NYC.
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John Patrick Kelantumama Boat for Turtle Hunting (Jarrikarlani - turtle), Ceramic Australian Contemporary |
Another lecture of interest in the ceramics area is Purruwurtiyarrapura (They Passed it on to him by Word of Mouth) in which Master Potter John Patrick Kelantumama (aka Yell) and Tim Hill, Manager, Tiwi Design discuss the development and evolution of indigenous ceramics in the remote Tiwi Islands, located 80 km off the coast of Australia, north of Darwin.
Don Reitz presents a unique overview of the life and legacy of late ceramic artist Rudy Autio, his art, character, contributions to the field, and his lasting influence – both personal and professional in The Legacy of Rudy Autio.
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Lucie Rie Monumental Vase, c. 1960 Stoneware, Photo: Alan Tabor Galerie Besson, London |
Exceptional gallery presentations include the first substantial showing of ceramics by Ian Godfrey in the USA at the stand of Galerie Besson, London. Godfrey, a seminal figure in British ceramics defined by his off-beat nonconformity, helped consolidate an increasingly sculptural and expressive approach to clay in the 1960’s. Seminal potter, Lucie Rie, Godfrey’s friend and mentor, called his complex and enigmatic works “happily impossible to imitate.” Galerie Besson also presents work by modernists Rie and Hans Coper as well as abstract ceramic sculpture exploring form, space and the intersection of architecture by Sir Anthony Caro, considered one of the world’s most influential contemporary sculptors.
Visit www.sofaexpo.com for full information on Lecture Series and Special Exhibits as well as updated news on SOFA CHICAGO 2007and live reports from the show floor, including artist/dealer interviews and art sold.