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Exhibition Transcends Traditions of Tested and Textured Artistic Mediums
More than 80 clay and fiber works will be on display at the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery, November 4 through January 8, 2000. Curated by Janice Lessman-Moss, professor of art, Kent State University and Judith Salomon, associate professor, Cleveland Institute of Art, Transcending Traditions: Ohio Artists in Clay and Fiber presents the work of six clay artists and seven fiber artists who question the traditions of their media.
An opening reception will be held Thursday, November 4, from 5-7 p.m. Hillbilly Idol will perform. The Chardon, Ohio, band blends honky tonk musical styles-Appalachian, rhythm and blues, Texas swing and bluegrass-into its own brand of roots music. The event is free and open to the public.
Clay artists participating in the exhibition are George Bowes, Cleveland; Kristen Cliffel, Cleveland; Rebecca Harvey, Columbus; Eva Kwong, Kent; Kirk Mangus, Kent; and Kelly Palmer, Cleveland. Fiber artists in the exhibition are Dorothy Gill Barnes, Worthington; Deborah Frazee Carlson, Peninsula; Nancy Crow, Loudenville; Jo Ann Giordano, University Heights; collaborations by Susan Shie and James Acord, Wooster; and Lilian Tyrrell, Ravenna.
All of the artists in Transcending Traditions have used their creative skills to transform materials into art through human insight and creativity. They have transcended tradition and created their own voices and styles.
Ceramics has a long history in Ohio, from the industrial southern clay belt at the turn of the 20th century to the Cleveland-based, Austrian-influenced ceramics of the 1930s. For the ceramic artists in Transcending Traditions , clay is the medium of choice because it can reflect their sense of touch and give permanence to their creations and ideas. The clay artists in this exhibition continue to question the past and represent the diversity of contemporary ceramics. All are interested in form, volume, surface and personal interpretation, and each has clarity of vision and commitment to clay and its history. They have reinvented their materials and presented them in a variety of manners and styles.
Fiber art is a broad field with a rich history of varied forms and traditions and the fiber artists in this exhibition have become fluent in the vocabulary of their craft. These artists create work with roots in the traditions of basketry, tapestry, screen printing, weaving, brocade, quiltmaking and embroidery. Although they are engaged with historic craft processes, the artists acknowledge the present through their reflections on the contemporary human condition. Some represent the culture of our times in a literal way; others embrace a more poetic, symbolic or abstract vocabulary. Through their continued explorations, they will enrich the future with stimulating visual insights.
Transcending Traditions: Ohio Artists in Clay and Fiber will tour to Kent State University, February 16 - March 17, 2000, and the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, April 8 - May 27, 2000. A full color catalog of the exhibition will be available for $10.
Transcending Traditions: Ohio Artists in Clay and Fiber is supported by the Ohio Building Authority. Media sponsors include Columbus Alive, Small Business News, Time Warner Communications and WCBE.
The gallery will be closed on Sunday, November 14 due to the Columbus Marathon.
The Riffe Gallery, operated by the Ohio Arts Council, showcases the work of Ohio's artists and curators and the collections of the state's museums and galleries. The gallery is in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, State and High Streets, Columbus, OH. Hours are Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 12-8 p.m. and Sunday 12-4 p.m. Admission is free. For information or to schedule a tour call the Riffe Gallery at 614/644-9624.
The Ohio Arts Council, a state agency established in 1965, builds the state through the arts-economically, educationally and culturally-preserving the past, enhancing the present and enriching the future for all Ohioans. The Council believes the arts should be shared by the people of Ohio. The arts arise from public, individual and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages those efforts.
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CALENDAR LISTING
Transcending Traditions: Ohio Artists in Clay and Fiber
November 4 - January 8, 2000 (Closed November 14 due to the Columbus Marathon)
Curated by Janice Lessman-Moss, professor of art, Kent State University and Judith Salomon, associate professor, Cleveland Institute of Art, Transcending Traditions: Ohio Artists in Clay and Fiber presents the work of six clay artists and seven fiber artists who question the traditional presentations of their media and have transformed nature into art through human insight and creativity. In the Riffe Center, across from the Statehouse on High Street in downtown Columbus. Admission is free. Call 614/644-9624 for more information.
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