Tag: stoneware

Raven Halfmoon in ‘Claypop’ at Jeffrey Deitch, New York

Two towering heads are positioned back-to-back in Raven Halfmoon’s powerful monumental stoneware sculpture ‘Bah’hatteno Nut’tehtsei (Red River Girl in Caddo).’  A standout in ‘Claypop,’ Jeffrey Deitch Gallery’s new group show of contemporary ceramic artwork curated by director Alia Williams, the work’s textured surface suggests rock carved from the landscape while Halfmoon’s spray-painted face-markings and signature on the side connects the piece to contemporary urban artistic expression. (On view in SoHo through Oct 30th.)

Raven Halfmoon, Bah’hatteno Nut’tehtsei (Red River Girl in Caddo), stoneware, glaze, 2021.

Sugiura Yasuyoshi in ‘The Slipstream: Reflection, Resilience and Resistance in the Art of Our Time’ at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

Dogwood flowers are known for their ‘delicate yet tough appearance’ the Brooklyn Museum explains; Sugiura Yasuyoshi’s sculptural version of a dogwood bloom adds another contrast by presenting transient beauty in solid stoneware.  Known for his ceramic sculptures of flowers, Yasuyoshi’s blooms may seem an unusual choice for ‘The Slipstream,’ the museum’s current show of work from the permanent collection that reflects on the turbulence of 2020.  But the flower is often associated with rebirth, making it a symbol of hope.  (On view through March 20, ’22.  Masks and vaccination proof required.)

Sugiura Yasuyoshi, Dogwood Flower, stoneware with metallic glazes, 2019.

Stephanie Temma Hier in ‘North by Northeast’ at Kasmin Gallery

The unlikely combination of a snake and carrots and the media of painting and ceramics in Stephanie Temma Hier’s sculpture/painting at Kasmin Gallery both attracts and puzzles.  Hier’s diverse combinations of imagery have included ceramic greyhounds with painted blueberries and sculptural lips enclosing a 2-D image of tulips; generally her juxtapositions prompt consideration of how the natural world has been mediated by human consumption.  Titled ‘At the Root of the Curve,’ this painting links root vegetables to sinuous forms via algebra terminology.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 13th).

Stephanie Temma Hier, At the Root of the Curve, oil on linen with glazed stoneware sculpture, 67 x 57 inches, 2021.

Stephanie Temma Hier in ‘This Sacred Vessel, part 3’ at Arsenal Contemporary Art

While most artists would choose between a ceramic sculpture or a painting for a given artwork, young Brooklyn-based Canadian artist Stephanie Temma Hier combines both in wall-mounted sculptures that frame representational paintings of fruit, vegetables, and flowers.  Surrounded by natural imagery, the artworks set up conversations between painting and crafted subjects that literally expand our thinking beyond the frame.  Here, fresh, clean and ready to cook greens meet both wild (hallucinogenic?) and chopped mushrooms offering a variety of pathways to consumption.  (On view at Arsenal Contemporary Art on the Lower East Side through Dec 20th.  Masks and social distancing required).

Stephanie Temma Hier, Beloved by the Caterpillar, oil on linen with glazed stoneware, 21.5 x 18 x 3 inches, 2020.

Genesis Belanger in ‘Distortions’ at Nathalie Karg Gallery

A disembodied, boneless hand by Brooklyn artist Genesis Belanger is equal parts attractive and creepy, part of a table-top arrangement of stoneware sculpture that includes a languid cigarette, two partially consumed Pink Lady apples and a lamp with a severely pinched-waist.  Part of Nathalie Karg Gallery’s summer group show ‘Distortions,’ Belanger’s sculpture provocatively blurs the line between human bodies, food and consumer objects in what the New Yorker proffered as ‘funny-pages Surrealism.’ (On view on the Lower East Side through August 15th).

Installation view of works by Genesis Belanger, including Acquiesce (hand in foreground), stoneware, brass, plaster, 13 ½ x 7 ½ x 6 inches, 2018 and Birthday Suit (Background), stoneware, brass, plaster and linen lampshade, 37 ½h x 13w x 14d inches, 2018.