SURFACE AND SYMBOL: SOFA CHICAGO 2004 GALLERIES AND DEALERS PRESENT ARTWORKS BRIDGING THE DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS

CERAMIC

Early reports from international ceramic art galleries promise a broad cross-section of periods and styles will be represented at SOFA CHICAGO, with special emphasis on modern and contemporary explorations of the vessel form.

Lucie Rie Yellow Footed Bowl, c. 1970 Porcelain 5 x 10.25 photo: Michael Harvey Galerie Besson, London, UK

Hans Coper Black composite form, c. 1967 Stoneware 7.75" h Galerie Besson, London, UK

Galerie Besson, London, UK will exhibit key mid-century modern pieces from Lucie Rie and Hans Coper, including Coper’s Black composite form, c. 1967. Anita Besson of Galerie Besson writes, “This is one of the most special ‘Composite forms’ made by Hans Coper and kept by his family. It was made in his Hammersmith studio; the shallow thrown drum was fixed to the form by drilling both parts and cementing in a section of steel knitting needle.” Galerie Besson will also exhibit a rare yellow footed bowl, c. 1970 by Lucie Rie. Besson writes, “This rare piece came from one of the most important Lucie Rie collectors in England and from the collector by descent. It has never been on the market and is a most unusual bowl as the blue inlaid lines have been covered by a wonderful yellow glaze. This collection always contained the best of Lucie Rie’s pieces, and we are privileged to be allowed to offer it to our American clients at SOFA Chicago.” Galerie Besson will also present contemporary work by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott and Annie Turner.

Joanna Constantinidis 2 Elliptical Bottles,1994 Stoneware with lustre glaze 7 x 6”d & 8 x 5”d photo: Rodney Todd-White Joanna Bird Pottery, London, UK

Joanna Bird of Johanna Bird Pottery, London, presenting a mix of modern and contemporary ceramic artists, writes, “Joanna Constantinidis and Hans Coper were among the first Studio Potters to see the advantage of grouping work. Irrepressibly modernist, Constantinidis threw and altered forms to give them more energy and movement, always sensitive to the subtle play of light on surface colour and texture. Two Ellipitical Bottles were in the last exhibition she had at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 1999, a year before she died.”

Martin Bodilsen Kaldhal Knotpot V, 2004 Stoneware 52 x 42 cm photo: Søren Nielsen Galleri Norby, Copenhagen, Denmark	Ruth Duckworth Untitled 828704, 2004 Porcelain 18 x 5.5 x 4.5 Bellas Artes/Thea Burger, Santa Fe, NM, and New York, NY

Bellas Artes/Thea Burger, Santa Fe, NM and New York, NY return to SOFA CHICAGO with a major ceramic art presentation, featuring American masters, Richard DeVore and Ruth Duckworth. Ruth Duckworth said of her new work, “When I am creating new work, I must, first, like the piece myself. After that I then hope the piece will be good to live with." Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark presents the finest of Scandinavian ceramics including Bodil Manz and Martin Bodilsen Kaldhal, the latter speaking in the SOFA CHICAGO Lecture Series.

Spira, Rupert Cylinder Vessels with incised Poem (detail), 2004 Ceramic 17 - 44" h Clay, Venice, CA

Clay, Venice, CA will present new work by acclaimed potter UK potter, Rupert Spira, who apprenticed with the seminal Michael Cardew. Of his new works incorporating text into vessel forms, Spira said, "The words on (these) bowls explore the nature of consciousness. This exploration is a subtle and elusive undertaking and the effort to read the words should reflect this…At each look a few more phrases will appear and the character of the poem will begin to emerge. However the content of the poem, like its subject matter, will always remain difficult to grasp. The process of exploring it should be fascinating but frustrating, drawing the viewer into the bowl on one level and into the meaning of the words on another. In this way the bowl and the words should reveal each other, drawing us into a progressively deeper participation with their common source.” Spira will make a presentation in the SOFA Lecture Series.

Stair, Julian Two Cups, 2003 Thrown ochre and grey stoneware cups on a handbuilt basalt ground 4.3 h x 7.5 “ w British Crafts Council, London, UK	Eastman, Ken Back to the Country, 2004 Clay 14.5 x 19 x 17.5 Barrrett Marsden Gallery, London, UK

The British Crafts Council, London, will premiere new work by ceramic arts scholar and artist, Julian Stair, renowned for his vessel forms in basalt, porcelain and red stoneware with strong simple lines, and his incorporation of stands, which function like a frame on a painting. Stair will speak in the SOFA Lecture Series about the relationship between ceramic practice and his historical research into the origins of English studio ceramics. Barrett Marsden Gallery, London, will present new work by seminal British ceramists including Ken Eastman, Gordon Baldwin, Chun Liao and others.

Beatrice Wood Gold lustre decorated chalice, 1995 Ceramic 7.5" h Beatrice Wood Studio, Ojai, CA

Wood, Beatrice Moment of Truth, c. 1973 Earthenware 15" h Beatrice Wood Studio, Ojai, CA

Noteworthy is the addition of Beatrice Wood Studio, Ojai, CA, which will represent work by Beatrice Wood, renown for pioneering exquisite ceramic "luster" glazes in luminous colors including dark green, gold, pink and blue, and for her social commentary, often poking fun at political hypocrisy and the battle of the sexes. Wood’s liaisons with artist Marcel Duchamp, writer Henri-Pierre Roche and others associated with the avant-garde Dada movement of the early 20th c., earned her the appellation "Mama of Dada." Her ceramics are displayed in the permanent collections of 12 major U.S. museums, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Modern Art. Wood died in 1994 at the age of 105. Martin Gewirtz, Director, Beatrice Wood Studio, said, "Wood described her figurative works as 'sophisticated primitives.' They include a variety of subjects and, more often than not, deal with the complex relationships between men and women. Strongly influenced by ancient or tribal arts, Wood regularly infused her work with her own wry sense of humor."

Walker, Jason Playing With Fire: Dumb Bomb Revisited, 2004 Porcelain 20 x 10 x 7" Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA	Biles, Russell The Passion of Andy: Faith, 2004 Porcelain, 17.5 x 8 x 10" Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA

Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA said, “At SOFA CHICAGO this year, the gallery will present the work of 20 ceramic artists. Over the years, the gallery has gained a reputation for discovering and introducing accomplished young artists. At SOFA CHICAGO two artists, Jinsoo Song and Suzanne Trujillo debut alongside others who were first shown in recent years, Laura DeAngelis, Karen Portaleo and Jason Walker. These artists join a strong stable of established artists who will present important new works: Russell Biles, Sergei Isupov and Red Weldon Sandlin. Ferrin reports that studio pottery will be a gallery focus at SOFA with a related panel discussion planned in the SOFA Lecture Series entitled Philosophical Legacies in Contemporary American Studio Pottery, designed “to bring attention to this important area of contemporary ceramics.”

Mayeri, Beverly Troubled Earth, 2004 Ceramic, acrylic 23 x 18 x 6" Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

Perimeter Gallery, Chicago reports that it will present new ceramic work by masters Beverly Mayeri, Toshiko Takeazu, Jack Earl and Jeffrey Mongrain. Frank Paluch, Director, Perimeter Gallery, is looking forward to premiering Beverly Mayeri's Troubled Earth, “a ceramic head painted with acrylics. This piece is significant because it speaks about man's relationship to Earth and our endangered natural resources." Perimeter will also present new textile art by Lia Cook, Kiyomi Iwata and John McQueen.

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