Opening Reception March 1st from 5:30-8
Ani Kasten:
Statement:
Investigating the materiality of the clay is the foundation and focal point for all of my vessels, sculptures and assemblages. I create wheel-thrown and hand-built forms in families, and these sculptural groupings explore the meeting point between natural and man-made worlds. The shapes and surface treatments take their influence from plants, water, rocks and clay, as well as from architecture, industry and machinery. The forms integrate these sometimes opposite sensibilities into a composed landscape, such as a stand of bamboo-like, truncated cylinders, perforated with small windows to look like corroded skyscrapers, or a simple, pure form such as a smooth sphere, marked on its surface with an off-center, wandering imprint, like bird tracks in the sand. The pieces are often truncated, off-center, weathered and perforated, combining natural movement and an apparent state of organic deterioration that invokes the cycle of life, death, decay. They investigate the nature of change, the compiling of memory, and a feeling of profound loss– the recognition of temporal beauty bound inextricably with grief. The pieces are like remnants, a landscape of objects that remain after some kind of significant change, grave markers, or organic matter that has survived a great fire. As creative expressions of form, movement and texture, my work is infused with a modern, minimal aesthetic while at the same time reminding one of a natural or ancient object exposed to the rigors of time. As does nature, my ceramics often incorporate repeated markings and patterns, and explore asymmetry while retaining balance, lightness, and quietude of form.
Samuel Johnson:
Bio:
Samuel Johnson was born on the Eastern prairie of the Red River Valley in 1973. After studying painting and ceramics at the University of Minnesota at Morris, he served a three and half year apprenticeship in pottery under Richard Bresnahan. In 2000, he was invited as a guest of Denmark’s Design School to study Scandinavian Ceramic design in Copenhagen; while also working at Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center, and as an assistant in private porcelain studios. After working for a short period in a studio in New York, he traveled to Japan as a studio guest of Koie Ryoji. In 2005, Johnson earned graduate degrees in fine art from the University of Iowa. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Central Minnesota and serves on the Board of Directors of Artaxis.org.
Statement:
The pottery in this exhibition is dark and rustic in appearance, evidence of both the process of shaping wet clay and its transformation through fire. Raw unglazed vessels were placed within the kiln and over the course of several days each were marked by wood and heat, melting ash, and charcoal resulting in a somber patina of natural hues and irregular textures. The work is intended to be mysterious and enigmatic in ways that feel familiar. The best of this work strikes a balance between the wild and mysterious character of ourselves and that part of our psyche that sets us apart from it, containing contradictory elements that provoke a sense of mystery and gravitas (soberness, weight, and grief) and suggest those aspects of our nature that is just on the other side of consciousness.
James LaChance
Bio:
James LaChance has had the privilege to work with some of the finest architects, artists and craftspeople. He credits these talented individuals with helping him develop his skills in creating high quality work.
He received his M.F.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle. He attended Minnesota State University Moorhead where he received a B.S. in Art Education and a B.A. in Fine Arts. James's work has been featured in Dwell, Metropolitan Home, Minnesota Monthly, Blu Dot, Better Homes and Gardens, and the Star Tribune to name a few. His work can be seen at the Walker Art Center's Garden Cafe which features his custom tables and cabinets.
