Since its inauguration in 1944, the Scripps College Ceramic Annual has featured new directions in ceramics. The exhibition, the longest running exhibition of contemporary ceramics in the U.S., offers the opportunity for gallery visitors to see contemporary ceramic innovations from across the nation.
This year’s guest curator is Steven Portigal, sculpture artist and chair of the Department of Art at Cerritos College, Norwalk, California. Mr. Portigal has attended the ceramic annual for nearly 30 years and has brought his students from Cerritos for the last 15.
As curator, Portigal help select the artists and pieces to be displayed at the exhibition. Artists include Luis Bermudez, Michael Geersten, Babs Haenen, Steven Heinemann, Eva Hild, Robert Hudson, Christine McHorse, Gustavo Perez, Nicholas Rena, Goro Suzuki, Howard Tollefson, and Robert Turner.
The exhibition features a diverse collection of art exploring the theme of transformation. The theme is understandable with a medium that uses heat to alter the properties of clay. But the idea of transformation permeates the vast range of forms and styles in the exhibition. Although some of the artists address the theme explicitly, others explore transformation more indirectly, veering away from conventional, traditional uses of ceramics, creating forms of expression rather than utility. The artists created large abstractions, chairs, vessels, and assemblage art and many pieces resemble materials such as wood, plastic, and even water.
“Two considerations drew me to the theme of transformation for this exhibition. For several years I have been exploring this idea and its corollary, alchemy, through my work in sculpture made of clay and other materials,” says Portigal. “I was interested in seeing how other artists approached these ideas. Because the Scripps Ceramic Annual is presented in an educational setting, where the transformation of students’ lives is a common goal, the inquiry seemed particularly appropriate.”
The Scripps College 62nd Ceramic Annual Exhibition and catalog are supported by the Ames Fund at Scripps; the Pasadena Art Alliance; Skutt Ceramic Products, Inc.; Laguna Clay; Julianne and David Armstrong; Francine and William Baker; Gloria and Sonny Kamm; Barbara and Victor Klein; Diane and Igal Silber; and Lynn Ballantyne and Rendall Welty. The full-color catalog includes an essay by Leah Ollman ’83, a corresponding editor for Art in America and art critic for the Los Angeles Times.
Admission is free and the gallery hours are Wednesdays through Sundays from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, please call the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at (909) 607-4690 or click here to visit their website.