Flora and Fauna: Contemporary Ceramics
03.03.2000 - 04.22.2000
Flora and Fauna: Contemporary Ceramics features seven artists, including: Adrian Arleo, Neil Forrest, Ovidio C. Giberga, Marilyn Lysohir, Keisuke Mizuno, Adelaide Paul and Chris Weaver. Cary Esser, Associate Professor and Chair of the Ceramics Department at 91导航,聽curated the exhibition. Esser鈥檚 conception for Flora & Fauna is prompted by her interest in plant and animal imagery in historical architectural ornament. Her investigation of the use and significance of such motifs from antiquity and their various manifestations within art of the present are prevailing themes in the exhibition. Flora & Fauna,聽a traveling exhibition, is co-organized by Florida Craftsmen Gallery and the 91导航. The exhibition will travel to Karl Drerup Gallery at Plymouth State College, Plymouth, New Hampshire.
Engaging the medium of ceramics, the artists create 鈥渉ybrid forms鈥 which explore human relationships with nature, culture, plants and animals.聽 Perception, intuition, societal and environmental issues, and absurdism are addressed in various evocative forms, creating new insights and avenues for contemplation.聽 In her accompanying essay, Esser comments on clay as an appropriate material for addressing the issues put forth in Flora & Fauna, both metaphorically and physically.聽 鈥淏y engaging space with clay, these artists acknowledge a reference to the earth鈥檚 foundation, which supports many life forms鈥.touching, like seeing and speaking, is a sensibility, a tool these artists use to experience and examine their world.鈥
This exhibition is made possible by a grant from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and generous support from Bunni and Paul Copaken and the Copaken Family Foundation.
