Henry Art Gallery

University of Washington

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15th Ave NE & 41st St
Seattle, WA 98195
(206)543-2280

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Exhibitions:

Around the Bend and Over the Edge: Seattle Ceramics 1964—1977

North Galleries

February 11, 2012May 16, 2012


Image 1 / 3: Robert Sperry. Spirit of ’76.

Image 2 / 3: Howard Kottler. Naughty Pine.

Image 3 / 3: Patricia Warashina. Serious Business.

The Henry has invited scholar Martha Kingsbury to be guest curator for an exhibition of ceramics culled primarily from the Henry’s collections for the occasion of the 2012 NCECA Convention (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) being held from March 28–30, 2012. The exhibition will showcase the exciting period when Seattle artists played an important role in the radical revisions of what constituted ceramics and ceramic art, including the then hotly-contested issues of the purity of clay, the integrity of the vessel, and the validity of ceramic sculpture. Seattle ceramists c. 1970 devised weird vessels, funky narratives, elegant formalist inventions, and oddly machine-like explorations in clay. This exhibition will reaffirm Seattle’s key position in the development of contemporary ceramics.

Guest-curated by University of Washington Professor of Art History Emeritus Martha Kingsbury with generous support from ArtsFund and the Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Fund for the Decorative and Design Arts.
Image 1: Robert Sperry. Spirit of ’76. 1975. Slab and hand-built earthenware with underglaze, glaze, and lusters. Henry Art Gallery, purchased with funds from Evelyn Howie, PONCHO and the National Endowment for the Arts, 77.40.
Image 2: Howard Kottler. Naughty Pine. c.1974-1976. Slip-cast with assembled earthenware with glaze and ceramic decal. Henry Art Gallery, purchased with funds from Evelyn Howie, PONCHO and the National Endowment for the Arts, 77.29.
Image 3: Patricia Warashina. Serious Business. 1973. Slip-cast, slab and hand-built earthenware with stains and luster glaze. Henry Art Gallery, purchased with funds from Evelyn Howie, PONCHO and the National Endowment for the Arts, 77.44.