AMOCA
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EXHIBITIONS:
NOVEMBER 2011 - MARCH 2012 |
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AUGUST 2011 |
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Exposed: Sculpture and Promised Gifts from AMOCA’s Permanent Collection
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| AMOCA presents Exposed: Sculpture and Promised Gifts from AMOCA’s Permanent Collection from August 13 through October 29, 2011. Over the past seven years the museum’s permanent collection has grown to almost 2,000 objects, gifted from large collections such as James and Jackie Voell, Frieda Bradsher, and Bill Burke, and by institutions such as the American Ceramic Society and the Spencer Davis/Ceramic Monthly collection. AMOCA exhibits for the first time their sculpture collection that features over sixty artists including promised gifts. Christa Assad, Rudy Autio, Ralph Bacerra, Darcy Badiali, Susan Beiner, Bennett Bea, Don Bendell, Nick Bernard, Nick Bernard, Ann Bontatibus, Frank Boyden and Tom Coleman, Rose Cabat, Peter Callas, Casey O'Connor, Patrick Crabb, Philip Cornelius, Rupert Deese, Patricia Ferber, David Furman, Melissa Greene, Glen Grishkoff, Shoji Hamada, Sylvia Hyman, Otto Heino, Lance Henriksen, Steve Horn, John Hopkins, Don Jones, Jeff Kirk, Margaret Keelan, Coeleen Kiebert, Mark Lueders, Ricky Maldonado, Gerard Monterrubio, Harrison McIntosh, Jens Morrison, Rodney Mott, Kevin Myers, Richard Notkin, Mata Ortiz, Joan Takayama-Ogawa, Vince Palacios, Brian Ransom, Don Reitz, Olin Russum, Keith Schneider, Curtis Scott, Paul Soldner, Robert Sperry, Ruth Stanley, Geoffrey Swindell, Toshiko Takeazu, Neil Tetkowski, Peter Voulkos, Diego `Valles, Carol Wedemyer, Patti Warashina, Howard Whalen, Jeff Whyman, Betty Woodman, Beatrice Wood. |
Bill Heiderich
Nova Gambill
Mark Goudy
AMOCA presents The Art of Clay, a community exhibition and fundraiser from July 9 through July 30, 2011. The museum will hold the opening reception on Saturday, July 9, 2011 from 6 – 9 p.m. in conjunction with the Second Saturday art walk in the Pomona Art Colony.
American Ceramic Society - Design Chapter of Southern California is a non-profit organization of over 300 potters, sculptors, teachers, students and ceramic designers who seek to share and increase their knowledge and expand public awareness and appreciation of the many facets of clay. ACS-DC was established in 1945 and many of its members are regional, national, and international artists. The Art of Clay, hosted by the American Museum of Ceramic Art,is a biennial invitational and juried exhibition open only to those artists who have recognized memberships in a clay group in California and Nevada. As a fundraiser, all works of art are for sale and will benefit AMOCA, the ACS-DC organization, and the artists. Special guest artist, Stefani Gruenberg will exhibit her ceramic sculptures; and this year’s judge will be ceramicist Vincent Suez, presenting awards on the following categories: Best Sculptural, Best Whimsical, Best Utilitarian, Best Porcelain, Best Stoneware, Best Earthenware, Best Alternative Firing (raku, smoke, pit fire) and Honorable Mention.
Stefani Gruenberg is a nationally recognized ceramist with over 40 years of experience beginning in the 60’s at UCLA where she received her bachelor’s degree and was also a Ceramic Teaching Fellow with Laura Andreson. She subsequently earned her graduate degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art/Western Reserve University with Toshiko Takaezu. Winner of the “Golden Trowel” award given by the Garden Design Magazine and an Honorable Mention in Alternative Firing category in Diversity in Clay in 2009, Stefani has been featured in numerous juried and solo shows and exhibitions. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The American Museum of Ceramic Art Presents
Ceramics: Post-Digital Design
April 23 – June 25, 2011
Open to the public: April 23, 12 p.m.
Grand Opening Reception, May 14, 6-9 pm
Pomona, CA, AMOCA presents Ceramics: Post-Digital Design, on exhibit from April 23 through June 25, 2011. This modish and very chic exhibition places the work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born in 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers such as David Pier, Heather Mae Erickson, Peter Saenger, Shawn Spangler, Hiroe Hanazono, Mia Mulvey, Karen Swyler, Marek Cecula, Klein Reid and many others who favor a minimalist aesthetic, producing clean, simplistic forms, organic curves and orderly compositions that reference nature by design. The emphasis of producing limited edition multiples through the use of molds, yields an expression that relates to the mid-century modern design movement and pays tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style. In Ceramics: Post-digital Design, each artist presents a unique perspective with their own ceramic processes and designs that continue a dialogue examining the future concepts in ceramic art.
Because technology is continually advancing, we question, how far we can go? What will the future of industry, commerce and even art be like? New technology brings new advancements with a multitude of opportunities and ideas, but we question if there will be a point where the human footprint will be lost, or if we will return to traditional methods for creating and communicating due to our communal nature. Ostensibly, the future holds a hybridization of all the above; as technology grows, humans evolve, and societal networks change, art is expressed in new powerful ways. The idea of a “Post-Digital Age” is upon us, and many art historians believe therein lies the future of art. Artist and educator Mel Alexenberg, author of The Future of Art in a Post-Digital Age, writes about new emerging art forms that “address the humanization of digital technologies” and explores post-digital perspectives that are “rising from creative encounters among art, science, technology, and human consciousness.”
Although the fundamentals of ceramics are rooted in traditional use, concepts and designs have evolved to keep up with a continually advancing aesthetic. Technology has not only transcended the process in which ceramics can be made and modified, but it has also transcended the way artists conceptualize their artwork. AMOCA’s exhibition, Ceramics: Post-Digital Design exhibits the very principals of Alexenberg’s thesis, that artists, no matter what medium, are making “interactive and collaborative forms, resulting in a fusion of spiritual and technological realms.”
Additional Programming
May
Friday, May 6
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Gainey Ceramics Tour
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lecture with Jenni Sorkin
Members Only Event: Tour to Gainey Ceramics Inc. Production Warehouse. Please RSVP to Angie Reyes at (909) 865-3146 or by email at: areyes@ceramicmuseum.org.
Saturday, May 14
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Grand Opening Reception: Ceramics: Post-Digital Design in conjunction with Pomona’s Second Saturday Art Walk.
Saturday, May 21
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Family Day: Apple Creations! Bring the family and make your own clay apple as we demonstrate the ways of using molds.
June
Saturday, June 4
6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Educator’s Night & AMOCA Docent Recruitment. Teachers across the San Gabriel Valley are invited to come to an advance preview of Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California 1945-1975. Those interested in becoming docents are also encouraged to come as we will be announcing our first docent training program. Speakers TBA
Saturday, June 11
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
2nd Saturday Lecture Series: Speaker TBA
Thermistors and Capacitors, Courtesy of RTI Electronics
Thermal Protection System Tile, Courtesy of Chuck Brasch
AMOCA offers an extraordinary scientific exploration of the many interactive uses for clay. See how your every-day life is improved by the multitude of innovations and inventions that use ceramic technology. The exhibition, Ceramics for the New Millennium is an unfamiliar departure from the museum’s usual art themed shows, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the complex role that ceramics plays in manufacturing and alternative processes used in today’s industry.
With the current dialogue regarding the necessity for a green environment and global responsibility – have you ever considered that the answer might be clay? Or that clay technology is an energy-efficient practice? Ceramic products are used to create clean energy with lower costs, establishing jobs which build a sustainable economy. Organic clay particles can replace the volatile chemicals used in plastics. Ceramic seeds can be used to deliver localized radiation that kills cancer cells, yet leaves healthy cells alone. You may be familiar with the mundanities of porcelain dental implants, kitchen sinks, light bulb sockets, and ceramic-lined crock pots, but you may not recognize the hundreds of other ceramic engineering applications such as ceramic hip or joint replacements, ceramic space ship tiles, and ceramic body armor plates used for defense.
AMOCA’s exhibit will be broad, covering a variety of displayed objects that illustrate how scientists and engineers have made ceramics the most dynamic industry for our future. Ceramic versatility is limitless with new applications being discovered every day in the fields of transportation, electronics, bio-medical, nuclear power, oil and gas, and solar energy. With the collaboration of Wendell Keith, CEO of Keith Company, maker of industrial heat treat furnace equipment, Bryan Vansell of Mission Clay Products, Joel Moskowitz, CEO of Ceradyne Inc. and many others, AMOCA will amass a wide selection of advanced-technology products as well as conventional commodities.
Additional Programming
January
Saturday, January 22nd, 12 noon – 5 p.m.
Open to the public: Ceramics for the New Millennium
February
Saturday, February 5th, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
AMOCA Members Only Event: Ceramic Industry Night Mixer
AMOCA members will have the unique opportunity to meet ceramic engineers and representatives from local ceramic industries in Southern California. Discover the multi-faceted uses of clay in technology today and the inventors behind it.
Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Saturday, February 12th, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Grand Opening Reception: Ceramics for the New Millennium in conjunction with the Pomona Art Colony Art Walk. 7 p.m. Exhibition Introduction by V. Ravi, Ph.D., C.Eng., Professor & Chair, Chemical & Materials Engineering Dept., Cal Poly, Pomona.
Saturday, February 26th, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Family Science Day! Free to the community. Bring the family and explore how ceramics are involved with space crafts, race cars and even ceramic armor used for Batman’s suit! There will be a special guest and a hands-on activity.
March
Saturday, March 5th & 6th, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Two-day demonstration workshop with Christa Assad
Fee: $145 AMOCA members; $165 non-museum members and includes a continental breakfast.
To RSVP please call: 909-865-3146.
Saturday, March 12th, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
AMOCA’s Second Saturday Lecture Series, in conjunction with the Pomona Art Colony Art Walk
until 9 p.m.
Guest Speaker: To be announced.
April
Saturday, April 9th, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
AMOCA’s Second Saturday Lecture Series, in conjunction with the Pomona Art Colony Art Walk
until 9 p.m. Guest Speaker: V. Ravi, Ph.D.,C.Eng, Professor & Chair Chemical & Materials Engineering Dept., Cal Poly, Pomona. Lecture: How Advanced Ceramics Play an Important Role in Industry Today.
OCTOBER - DECEMBER, 2010
Peregrinación: Mexican Folk Ceramics
October 9, 2010 – January 8, 2011
Grand Opening Reception, October 9, 6-9 pm
The term, peregrinación, meaning ‘pilgrimage,’ historically refers to the long journey of the pre-Columbian Mexica culture, later known as the Aztecs, who migrated to the Valley of Mexico. AMOCA invites you to take a pilgrimage through this exhibit and explore the ceramics of Mexico. The artists represented in this exhibition are: Angel Santos, Dolores Porras, Simeon Galvan, Guillermina Aguilar, Manuel Morales, Juan Torres, Antonio Pedro Martinez, Rosendo Rodriguez, Francisco Basulto, Salvador Vasquez, Antonio Mateos Suárez, Josefina Aguilar, Tiburcio Soteno, Carlomagno Pedro Martinez, and Candelario Medrano.
The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) will offer a vibrant exhibition of Mexico's contemporary folk ceramics, highlighting festivals and traditions such as Mexico’s Día de los Muertos (day of the dead). Originally based in Mesoamerican ritual, Día de los Muertos today has been infiltrated by Christian theology and iconography. In contrast to solemn and somber mourning rituals practiced by many cultures, the Día de los Muertos festivities are celebrated with joy and humor. Family graves and altars are decorated with ofrendas (offerings) embellished with candles, photos, foods, and flowers to commemorate the dead.
As one of the most recognized Mexican folk icons, charmingly colorful and well dressed skeleton figures, called catrinas, will be exhibited. Many potters in Capula, Michoacán continue the catrina tradition by melding Mesoamerican imagery with turn of the century French influences to create skeletal women and men dressed in elegant, Victorian-era finery. Other exhibited ceramic works include masks, skulls, tree of life sculptures, devils, mermaids, animals, imaginative spirit figures, whimsical tableaus; and religious icons such as Our Lady of Guadalupe, Catholic Saints, and nativity figures. Lastly, the exhibition will display utilitarian objects and tiles from Puebla, known for their famous Talavera style, which reflect the Spanish Majolica tradition introduced to Mexico at the beginning of the Colonial period.
Ceramic sculpture and pottery has long been a tradition in Mexico, dating back to 2000 B.C. Throughout the colonial era, between 1521 and 1650, much of the iconography and design shifted to reflect Catholic and Spanish influences. After the the Mexican Revolution and the influx of diverse cultures, the arts and crafts, including clay, became highly stylized, reflecting the cultures unique to each region. Many of these ceramic-production areas are based in small towns such as Tonalá, Tlaquepaque, Metepec, Ocumichu, Capula, Coyotepec, Guanajuato, Acatlán, and Tecali.
Additional Programming
October
Friday, October 8, 7:30 p.m.
AMOCA Members Only Event
Exhibition Preview and Guest Lecture with Rocky Behr, owner and curator of The Folk Tree, Pasadena, CA. Ms. Behr will speak about her travels all over Mexico and her collaborations with renowned folk artist families.
Saturday, October 9, 6-9 p.m.
Grand Opening Reception: Peregrinación: Mexican Folk Ceramics
Música, Aperitivos, y Vino!
Sunday, October 17, 2-4 p.m.
AMOCA Expansion Open House and Fundraiser
Come take a closer look at AMOCA’s future museum space! There will be a special presentation by AMOCA Founder David Armstrong and Museum Director Christy Johnson, tours of the new building, artist studio rental sign-ups, and a pledge table. Wine and refreshments will be served.
Saturday, October 30, 6-9 p.m.
El Festival del Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead Festival)
Join us as we celebrate our memories and ancestors at AMOCA. We invite you to dress for the dead as we enjoy Mariachi music, face painting, community altar making, pan de muerto (sweet bread), champurrado (hot chocolate-atole beverage), and tamales.
November
Saturday, November 6, 1-4 p.m.
Children’s Day: Calavera Head Banks and Storytellers. Bring the family and make alcancías (Mexican head banks) out of clay and enjoy Mexican folk stories.
Saturday, November 13, 12-9 p.m.
Chili Bowl Fundraiser from 12-9 p.m. and AMOCA’s 2nd Saturday Lecture Series from 6-7 p.m. in conjunction with Pomona’s Art Colony Art Walk. Come choose local artist-made bowls, get your chili, and hear our special guest speaker.
December
Saturday, December 11, 6-7 p.m.
2nd Saturday Lecture Series in conjunction with Pomona’s Art Colony Art Walk from 6-9 p.m.
JULY - SEPTEMBER, 2010
Richard Notkin
Cube Skull Teapot: Tea Blood and Opium, 2002
Collection of the Artist
Unknown Artist
Yixing Teapot, 20th Century
Collection of John and Barbara Conrad
Ah Leon: “Memories
of Elementary School”
and the Spirit
of Yixing Tea Ware
July 10, 2010 – September 25, 2010
Grand Opening Reception, July 10, 6-9 pm
AMOCA presents Ah Leon, an international contemporary artist from Taiwan who merges Chinese Yixing traditions with his signature wood-textured trompe l’oeil style to form illusionistic installations. Originally trained as a painter at the National Academy of Fine Art in Taipei, Ah Leon became a master of the traditional Yixing style teapot; hand-built and unglazed in the prized purple clay stoneware from the southern part of Jiangsu Province in East China, where Chinese teapot production began in the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE).
Ah Leon is well known for his installation of the Bridge, his most famous 68-foot handmade clay structure. His latest work on exhibit at AMOCA is titled, Memories of Elementary School, an installation of dilapidated school desks with his wood-like stoneware technique. Inspired by rustic Taiwanese wooden furniture, Ah Leon comments that “wood, much like clay itself, tells many stories like an ancient footprint.” Ah Leon’s installation emphasizes the surrealism of what it’s like to return to the past with an adult perspective. The desks personify the friends of his past; people from his home who have come back for reunion after 30 or 40 years to find the desks have aged or bear the same marks as those who once occupied them.
“We spent a lot of time sitting on these kinds of chairs and desks. We used them to write, draw, eat, sleep, dream, play and also to cheat! We miss the good times we had when growing up and realize it was the most enjoying time in our life. Now the furniture looks old and is rotting away, mimicking the way all of us become old with wrinkles. But when my friends reunite with these desks and chairs, they find and remember; their shadows are still there. Here in this installation, I have preserved them in clay.” – Ah Leon
The Spirit of Yixing Tea Ware is part two of the exhibition displaying 100 Yixing teapots from the 18th century to the present. Some of these unglazed teapots were made to look like gourds, eggplant, or bamboo, and many have fanciful spouts and handles, often shaped to resemble dragons, frogs, or other transformative creatures. Interwoven with the ceramic teapots is the historic significance of tea culture, trade, and symbolism. These traditional variations are juxtaposed against the work of Richard Notkin, another contemporary ceramic artist known for his series of unglazed stoneware teapots which are reminiscent of Yixing wares circa 1500 AD to the present. Notkin’s teapot sculptures are inspired by history, politics and war. He consciously maintains a separate cultural identity, positioning his work as a vehicle for social commentary that "reflects the current dilemmas of our contemporary human civilization.” For over three and a half decades, his work has been exhibited internationally, and is in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan. Notkin's awards include three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.
Additional Programming
July
Saturday July 10, 6-9 p.m.
Grand Opening Reception
Ah Leon: ‘Memories of Elementary School” and the
Spirit of Yixing Tea Ware
Sunday July 11, 10-4 p.m.
Ah Leon Demonstration Workshop
The workshop will include wheel-throwing and
hand-building techniques, including tips on making successful
teapots. He will present a PowerPoint lecture on his career
including Yixing teapot making techniques, contemporary innovations,
and his installation work. The workshop will begin at 10 a.m.
with a continental breakfast starting at 9 a.m. and conclude
with a tea ceremony. $85 fee (AMOCA members $65.) To purchase
a reservation, please call the museum at (909) 865-3146, extension
#103. Space is limited.
August
Saturday August 14, 7-8 p.m.
Second Saturday Lecture Series featuring Yixing Expert
Dr.Tony Huntley, Saddleback College
Dr. Huntley will present the history of Yixing teapots illustrated
with images of traditional and contemporary wares.
September
Saturday September 11, 7-8 p.m.
Second Saturday Lecture Series
Saturday September 25, 6-8:30 p.m.
Members Only Event featuring a guest speaker and a live music performance.
A light reception will follow. AMOCA members may bring two non-member guests. To R.S.V.P. please call the museum at (909) 865-3146, extension #103. Space is limited.
Steve Horn Haniwa, 2010
Stanton Hunter Un-tidaled, 2010
Southern California Ceramic Instructors and their Students
May 8 - June 26, 2010
Opening Artists’ Reception, Saturday May 8, 2010, 6-9 pmkilnopening.edu 2010 is an extensive exhibition of work created by Southern California college/university ceramic professors and selected advanced students. The exhibition also acts as a fundraiser to support both the artists and AMOCA’s ceramic educational programs. Everything on exhibit is for sale. The Opening Artists’ Reception will be held on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 6-9 p.m. in conjunction with the Second Saturday Art Walk in Downtown Pomona’s Artist Colony. The featured guest artist is Professor Emeritus, John Conrad who taught ceramics at Mesa College in San Diego, California for thirty years. Conrad’s special area of research is the rare, Chinese, Sung Dynasty “Black Pearl” glaze that displays metallic crystals in black, silver and bronze.
Presented in support of ceramic education, kilnopening.edu is a biennial exhibition which underscores the importance of college-level ceramic programs offered in the area and gives an opportunity to showcase local faculty members and students in a professional museum setting. From contemporary sculpture, experimental clay to traditional pottery, this exhibition identifies what’s happening now with clay in the academia of fine arts.
kilnopening.edu 2010 is the first year that the exhibition is extended to two full months. Previously held for only 3 weeks, AMOCA has extended the dates to generate energy among faculty and students to give more time and opportunity to sell their work, and for the museum to hold a series of special events. These events include AMOCA’s May 29th symposium, Clay Now: An Artist and Educator’s Perspective on Current Issues in Art and a brand new Second Saturday Lecture Series beginning on June 12th featuring artist and educator Timothy John Berg, from Pitzer College.
As an organization of vision, devoted to the arts, we believe that visual art experiences communicated through professional artists, workshops or gallery exhibitions, promote cross-cultural understanding and provide new perspectives and insights which enrich our lives. AMOCA provides exhibitions that honor the ceramic achievements of the past, and through community exhibitions like kilnopening.edu, we supply encouragement that will ensure the future of this magical medium.
kilnopening.edu Events
May
Opening Artists’ Reception
May 8, 2010, 6-9 p.m. in conjunction with Second Saturday Art Walk in Downtown Pomona’s Artist Colony. Live music, hors d'oeuvres and wine.
Symposium
Clay Now: An Artist and Educator’s Perspective on Current issues in Art
May 29, 2010, 6pm - 8pm
Join us and participate in a panel-led discussion and audience dialogue that will examine the challenges ceramic artists and educators face today. Due to the current economic crisis and budget cuts in the arts, ceramic programs have diminished or have been removed entirely. Composed of a diverse group of ceramic artists and educators who currently play a pivotal role in contemporary ceramics, this symposium is an opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue to identify the challenges of contemporary clay artists, educational approaches, teaching standards, relevance to multimedia, clay identity and criticism. Keynote panelists are: Timothy John Berg, Richard Burkett, Patsy Cox, Stanton Hunter, Tony Marsh, and Alison Petty-Ragguette. AMOCA’s Guest Moderator is Bill Bush, President and Co-founder of Gramercy Partners Inc. an award-winning marketing communications firm specializing in the arts, education and publishing.
June
Second Saturday Lecture Series featuring artist: Timothy John Berg
June 12, 2010, 7pm - 8pm
AMOCA’s brand new lecture series begins on Saturday, June 12th, and every Second Saturday in conjunction with the Pomona Art Walk. Artists and educators will give art talks starting at 7 p.m. Guest speaker Timothy Berg received his BFA magna cum laude from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 2000 and his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2003. Currently Berg is a Professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. His recent exhibitions include a solo show at Dean Project in Long Island City, New York and a group show entitled Confrontational Ceramics in White Plains, New York.
AMOCA Members-Only Event
June 26, 2010, 1-3 p.m.
Members, come join us and learn about image transfer techniques on clay! Famous for his paper litho-oxide image transfer technique, artist and educator Steve Horn will demonstrate, step-by-step how to transfer an image onto clay. Non-members are welcome to attend for $25.
EXHIBITIONS: JANUARY - APRIL
 Geoffrey Swindell Teapot, c. 2000 |
 Sandi Pierantozzi Sugar and Creamer, c. 2000 |
A Survey of Tabletop Vessels from AMOCA's Permanent Collection
January 23, 2010 - April 24, 2010
Grand Opening Reception, February 13, 6-9 pm
Guest Co-Curators:
Jo Lauria & Billie Sessions, Ph.D.
Pomona, CA, AMOCA presents Let's Table This: A Survey of Tabletop Vessels from AMOCA's Permanent Collection, on exhibit from January 23 through April 24, 2010. AMOCA presents for the first time a full scale exhibition highlighting a selection of the permanent collection. The exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 12 - 5 p.m. The Grand Opening Reception will be held on February 13, from 6-9 p.m. with a pre-reception curator discussion with Jo Lauria and Dr. Billie Sessions beginning at 5 p.m. All opening reception events are in conjunction with the Second Saturday Art Walk in the Pomona Art Colony.
This exhibition surveys the domestic space of the dining table and features nearly 150 functional ceramic works drawn from AMOCA's 1,000-piece permanent collection. Each piece selected in this landscape of tableware is called upon to fulfill its purpose of serviceability, hospitality, visual interest, and tactile pleasure.
Elegant tea bowls and large platters influenced by traditional forms and glazes elevate the commonplace object of dinnerware to the level of creative expression. Teapots, tea cups, pitchers, and creamers that showcase whimsicality either in their shape or surface embellishment provide moments of punctuation and bring levity to the table setting. Plates, bowls, covered containers, and vases sporting riotous colors or decorative patterns serve as focal points and topics of conversation at the dinner table. Always playing to an audience, these domestic tabletop objects represent the civility, familiarity, and daily ritual of the dining experience. They also reflect on the long and rich history of functional pottery and celebrate the ceramic form for its sensuality of material and containment of meaning.
As you can surmise from the exhibition description and the twist in its title, this survey will be a light-hearted, fun and festive approach to tabletop ceramic wares. The exhibition is co-curated by Jo Lauria, independent curator, decorative arts and design specialist, and author; and Dr. Billie Sessions, Emeritus Professor of Art, California State University, San Bernardino, author and ceramic art researcher. Both guest curators currently serve on the museumÆs Advisory Board.
About AMOCA's permanent collection: Over the last five years the museum's permanent collection has been amassed from a number of sources. Some were large gifts comprised of numerous pieces, given by individuals or institutions. Some came from artists themselves while others were donated a piece or two at a time by individual collectors. Nearly half of the acquisitions are the result of a large donation from the American Ceramic Society, Spencer Davis/Ceramic Monthly collection. Other en-masse donors are James and Jackie Voell, Frieda Bradsher, and most recently, Bill Burke.
EVENTS
January
Open to the public
Let's Table This: A Survey of Tabletop Vessels from AMOCA's
Permanent Collection
Saturday, January 23, 2010, 12 - 5 p.m.
February
Pre-reception discussion and walk through with
Co-Curators Jo Lauria and Dr. Billie Sessions
Saturday, February 13, 2010, 5 p.m.
Grand Opening Reception
Let's Table This: A Survey of Tabletop Vessels from AMOCA's
Permanent Collection
Saturday, February 13, 2010 from 6 - 9 p.m. in conjunction with
the Second Saturday Art Walk in the Pomona Art Colony.
March
Celebration Party: AMOCA's Appreciation for Museum
Supporters
Saturday, March 13, 2010, 6 - 9 p.m.
7:30 p.m. Presentation to acknowledge permanent collection artists,
donors, and museum volunteers.
In honor of AMOCA's first permanent collection exhibition, come
celebrate with us for a fun evening with musicians, wine, tapas,
and an art raffle.
 |
Harrison McIntosh Space Defined, 1983 Stainless steel and cast, glazed, stoneware Collection of Janet Myhre |
 |
Harrison McIntosh Platter, 1975 Glazed, cone 5 stoneware with mishima lines Collection of Catherine McIntosh |
The exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 12 - 9 p.m. during the second Saturday Art Walk in the Pomona Art Colony. The same evening McIntosh will celebrate his 95th birthday and AMOCA's 5th anniversary at the home of AMOCA founders, Julianne and David Armstrong. There AMOCA will host a gala celebration and birthday dinner party featuring Harrison McIntosh and wife Marguerite in person from 6-9pm.
AMOCA presents this retrospective exhibition to honor the life and ceramic artwork of Harrison McIntosh, one of the best-known ceramic artists of the Pomona Valley and leader in the post-World War II Southern California crafts movement. Along with the history, culture, and lifestyle of this era, the exhibition features Harrison's beautifully crafted ceramic pottery and sculpture, recognized for its precision, perfect proportions, repetitive lines, and subtle, decorative graphic elements.
McIntoshís introduction to ceramics included study with Glen Lukens, Marguerite Wildenhain, and Richard Petterson. These educators touted the fine art of craft, with emphasis on technique, design, and mastery of glazing skills. Marguerite Wildenhain, trained at the Bauhaus, insisted on strict methodological performance from her students, and Richard Petterson (Scripps College), intrigued by the Mingei folk art movement of Japan, introduced McIntosh to the traditions and aesthetic views of the East.
Armed with these principles, McIntosh, along with fellow potter Rupert Deese, established a studio in nearby Claremont. While some ceramic artists of that time went on to follow the more extreme choice of abstract-expressionist ceramic art, McIntosh chose to pursue vessel-oriented forms, concentrating on craftsmanship and fine design. McIntosh stayed true to his personal vision, grounded in the vessel format with an unpretentious approach that can only happen when the potter is so familiar with the practice, so adept at the process, and so in tune with automatic actions that a higher form of intuitive response takes over. There is no need for force or control because the body knows the way. Simply put, McIntoshís mode of spontaneity is the antithesis of artifice.
This exhibition is accompanied by a 100-page, full-color, hard-bound catalog highlighting his life and works, replete with essays by Christy Johnson, AMOCA Director, Martha Longenecker, Founder of the Mingei International Museum, and Marguerite McIntosh, Founder of the Claremont Museum of Art.
In evaluating the accomplishments of Harrison McIntosh, it is helpful to place his ceramic career in context by elucidating the complex social, economic, and political factors that intersected in post-World War II Southern California. This was a time when returning soldiers, European war refugees, and job seekers flocked to the Los Angeles area in search of opportunity, a favorable climate, and promises of prosperity. The influx of people set the stage for an unprecedented housing boom that included tract-home construction; Modern design preferences; new, industrial-strength hi-tech materials; a casual life style; and inside/outside living areas. The comforts of home and family ushered in an era of conservative values, conformity, and a sense of optimism. And, as the middle-class population mushroomed, materialism and consumerism flourished.
At the time, architecture was greatly influenced by progressive European building models, Bauhaus design concepts, advanced technology, and Southern California's need for immediate and affordable housing. These factors translated into a comparatively austere and streamlined building style, suitable for the warm climate and casual outdoor activities. Appropriate to the small-scale houses, architects compensated for the lack of actual space by creating the illusion of roominess through visual artifices. There was nothing East Coast about the style; nothing ostentatious, traditional, or classic; no heirlooms or antiques. The focus was on materials. Clean, squared lines abounded, glass walls erased boundaries, natural materials combined with molded plastics, and angular metal elements characterized the interiors; and, as if to add balance, hand-crafted accessories found their way into the mix. Blank walls, exposed beams, and bare surfaces provided ideal display spaces for woodworking, weaving, copper enamel, glass, and especially ceramics.
The establishment of a "California Look" was sold nationwide. Magazines such as House Beautiful, under the leadership of Elizabeth Gordon, picked up on the hot, new style with articles on designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nakashima, Sam Maloof, and Harrison McIntosh. Arts and Architecture magazine used "Case-Study-Houses" to display ways that the Modern home could be constructed and furnished. Other venues such as the Pan Pacific Auditorium, the California Design shows at the Pasadena Art Museum, and the Los Angeles County Fair followed suit, arranging room vignettes with contemporary choices to serve as inspiration for new homeowners of the Southland. Seemingly a dichotomy, but combined in a manner that worked, the setups included both manufactured, industrial-looking furnishing, and hand-crafted objects. The Los Angeles Times Home magazine included articles on and images of architecture, gardens, fixtures, and arts and crafts. The entire region was rich with designers, architects, landscapers, and craftsmen eager to satisfy the new demand. The time and circumstances were right, so Harrison McIntosh and fellow potter and friend Rupert Deese set up their first studio in a stone building on Foothill Boulevard in Claremont in 1954 with the intention of becoming full-time potters.
OTHER EVENTS
September
Harrison McIntosh Exclusive Appearance in Claremont, CA.
Saturday, September 12, 2009, 6-9 pm.
Concurrent with the opening night of Harrison McIntosh: A Timeless Legacy, McIntosh will celebrate his 95th birthday and AMOCA's 5th anniversary in Claremont. AMOCA founders, Julianne and David Armstrong will host a Birthday Party Celebration at their home in Claremont, featuring Harrison McIntosh on the same night the exhibit opens to the public. To see Harrison McIntosh and celebrate with AMOCA, reservations are $100 admission per person.
To RSVP for space, please call 909/865-3146 with your credit card information.
October
AMOCA a'la Mode
Fundraiser
October 10, 2009 12-9pm
A benefit sale of mugs and bowls will be held in AMOCA's Paseo (just behind the museum) to help support AMOCA's educational programs. Every mug will be sold at $20 filled with a hot mocha, and brownie a' la mode filled bowls are $15. All mugs and bowls are donated from local artists.
Book Signing with Harrison McIntosh
October 10, 2009, 6-7 pm
Come greet Harrison McIntosh and have him sign your book. The museum will be open in conjunction with the Pomonaís Second Saturday Art Walk until 9pm.
November
Collector's Night ~Members Only
November 7, 2009 6:30 pm
AMOCA invites Mid-Century-Modern Collectors and AMOCA members to join us for our Collector's Night. Collectors will share their stories and experiences about collecting objects from this special era and bring examples from their personal collections. A Mid-Century-Modern guest specialist Gerard O'Brien, from Reform Gallery, will present a slideshow summarizing modern design, architecture, and urban development from 1930 to 1965 and why its unique style makes this era recognized by scholars and museums worldwide as a significant design movement.
December
Art and Pottery Market
Saturday, December 12, 2009, 12 - 9 pm
Our Paseo (just behind the museum) will be filled with original art & pottery for sale. Support local artists and the museum by finding unique gifts.
Kid's Workshop
December 12, 2009, 1-5 pm
While you shop at our Art and Pottery Market, bring your kids! AMOCA will have tents set-up outside for adults and their children to try working with clay on a potterís wheel.
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AUGUST 2009
Karen Koblitz, Life Cycle II, wall installation
William Shinn, Extruder Phantom, wall piece
Diversity in Clay: A
Community Exhibition and Fundraiser
August 8 – August 29, 2009
Opening Reception, August 8, 6-9 pm
Pomona, CA, AMOCA presents Diversity in Clay, a community exhibition
and fundraiser from August 8 through August 29, 2009. The museum
will hold the opening reception on Saturday, August 8, 2009
from
6 - 9 p.m. in conjunction with the second Saturday art walk
in the Pomona Art Colony.
American Ceramic Society - Design Chapter of Southern California
is a non-profit organization of over 300 potters, sculptors,
teachers, students and ceramic designers who seek to share and
increase their knowledge and expand public awareness and appreciation
of the many facets of clay. ACS-DC was established in 1945 and
many of its members are regional, national, and international
artists. Diversity in Clay, hosted by the American Museum of
Ceramic Art, is a semi-annual invitational and juried exhibition
open only to those artists who have recognized memberships in
a clay group in Southern California. As a fundraiser, all works
of art are for sale and will benefit AMOCA, the ACS-DC organization,
and the artists. Special guest artist, Karen Koblitz will exhibit
her ceramic work; and ceramicist, William Shinn will judge the
awards for the categories: Best Sculptural, Best Whimsical,
Best Utilitarian, Best Porcelain, Best Stoneware, Best Earthenware,
Best Alternative Firing (raku, smoke, pit fire) and Honorable
Mention.
Karen Koblitz is a national and internationally published ceramic
artist. Her ceramics merges Eastern and Western themes, layered
with elaborately crafted and richly decorated art, architecture,
and literature of Azerbaijan intertwined with images and symbols
familiar to her native California. After receiving a Culture
Connect Envoy Grant through the United States Department of
State, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Koblitzís
work was influenced by a 15-day journey through Azerbaijan in
May 2006. She states that her work pays ìhomage to the
functional roots of ceramics while elaborating on historical
and decorative elements.î
William Shinn has become internationally recognized both in
painting and ceramics. Bill's ceramic work is produced by combining
slab and extrusion techniques. Out of need, he has recently
designed new dies to accomplish his unique constructions. Inspired
by his backpacking trips to the Sierras and desert, his art
is influenced by earth surfaces and outcroppings created by
flash flooding and glacier erosion.
Demonstration Workshop with DON REITZ
August 23rd, 9am- 4pm
$85, $65 for AMOCA members, includes continental breakfast
Make a reservation by calling (909) 865-3146
Recognized as one of the most important and influential ceramic
artists of this century, Don Reitz is well known for reviving
salt and wood-firing techniques. His life-long commitment to
research, testing, and experimentation have been crucial to
the development of his cutting-edge work. Reitzís distinctive
use of color, surface, and gestural markings make him one of
the most recognized artists in American studio ceramics. His
workshop will take place outside of the Museum.
David Furman: The Artist is in the Details
May 16 through July 25, 2009
Artist Reception Saturday, June 13th, 6 – 9 p.m.
David Furman: The Artist is in the Details
at AMOCA is a retrospective exhibition that will include a
number of dissimilar bodies of work, starting with his early
emphasis on miniature environments, through
his trompe l’oeil stage to his current figurative work,
called Body Language. Furman has embraced a
number of working methods, technical approaches, historical
references, and themes. By exploring multiple
perspectives of “reality” and intimacy through gesture,
Furman imbues his sculpture with human
characteristics and emotion.
Special Event: Guest Artist Talk with David Furman
Saturday, June 27, 5-7 p.m. Open to the public, $5 admission;
free for members
To RSVP, please call 909/865-3146 or email: frontdesk@ceramicmuseum.org
Cerámica de la Tierra:
The Pre-Columbian Tradition
with contemporary works by Luis Bermudez and Francisco “Pancho”
Jiménez
February
28 - May 9, 2009
The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) presents a new exhibition
designed to appeal to our immediate community. Cerámica
de la Tierra, February 28 - May 9, 2009, examines Mesoamerican
ceramics coupled with a glimpse of contemporary ceramic expressions
rooted in pre-Columbian traditions. This exhibition, supported
by the James Irvine Foundation, will unveil a large, rarely-seen,
private collection of pre-Columbian works, replete with examples
of ceramic tomb sculptures, wind instruments, and vessels. Ranging
from 1200 BC to AD 1600, these antiquities represent the Maya
culture; West Mexico - Jalisco, Colima, and Nayarit, Veracruz;
Teotihuacán; and northern Peru.
Juxtaposed against the ancient works are the contemporary ceramic
sculptures of Luis Bermudez and Francisco "Pancho"
Jiménez, two California Mexican American artists who
reference Mesoamerican culture in their art.
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CALENDAR Saturday, March 14, 6-9 p.m. Saturday, April 18, 5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. |
photo:
by Ren
DECEMBER 2008
August 30th – November 8th, 2008
Reception, Saturday, September 13th, 6-9pm
This retrospective exhibition showcases over 90 ceramic works by multi-talented artist and innovative ceramist, Robert Sperry (1927-1998). For over 40 years Sperry, a figure of the post World War II American Studio Ceramics movement in the Pacific Northwest, was a professor at the University of Washington. In addition to being a great contributor to the advancement of ceramic art, particularly in the formulation of slips and glazes, Sperry is remembered for further developing an excellent ceramics department at the University’s and birthing a long line of ceramic instructors.
A full color 271 page book titled Robert Sperry, Bright Abyss covering the lifetime achievements of Sperry, published by AMOCA with text by Matthew Kangas will accompany this exhibition. Hard cover $69.50, soft cover $49.50.
Special Events:
A Night at the Movies, featuring the Village Potters of Onda
A 27 minute documentary film by Robert Sperry
Saturday, October 11th, 4-6pm
Refreshments will be served
FREE with admission
Art & Pottery Market
Southern California Artists sell their handmade ceramics in our outdoor patio
Friday, November 7th, noon-5:00pm
Saturday, November 8th, noon-8:30pm
FREE
Books, DVD’s and original ceramic artwork will be available for sale in our museum store.
The postcard above features: (clockwise)
Kevin A Myers The East 2008; Robert
G. Wertz Contrition 2007; Hanna Lore Hombordy
Westwind 1990; Frank Massarlla Subtle Color
and Texture Bottle 2008.
MAY - JULY 2008
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San Ildefonso Pueblo Pottery |
Mary Small, Jemez Pueblo |
