The first traveling museum exhibition to focus on Black ceramic artists working today, this survey of functional and sculptural ceramics shines a light on 36 innovative makers. Inspired by the recently published book Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists and co-curated by authors Chotsani Elaine Dean and donald a clark, the exhibition recognizes the important, current contributions of African American ceramicists.
The artworks in this exhibition demonstrate a range of techniques and explore topics of historical and contemporary relevance. Understanding the role of clay in carrying ancestral and cultural knowledge from Africa to the Americas, several artists use their medium to explore history, including histories of enslavement, as well as heritage and identity. Other artists respond to calls for social justice, celebrate Black beauty, or convey personal stories of connection, celebration, and triumph. Incorporating processes that range from wheel throwing to slab building, and showcasing works that draw inspiration from other media including quilting and graffiti, this exhibition aims to broaden conversations about contemporary studio ceramics while asserting the presence and excellence of Black makers.
This exhibition was organized by the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Images (left to right): John Henry: The Fall, 2019, terracotta, walnut, maple, and granite by Keith Wallace Smith. 26.5 x 17.5 x 17.5 in.; Entangle #2, 2019, terracotta, engobe, slip and glaze by Adero Willard. 24 x 18 x 18 in.; and Memory Spoon: ‘minding my garden, as they did with their gardens’, 2021, ceramic, porcelain paper clay, silica sand, black sand, resin and dried flowers by Chotsani Elaine Dean. 13.5 x 4.5 x 4.25 in. Photos courtesy of Northern Clay Center.
donald a clark began collecting ceramics in the 1970s and has been a core figure in the American ceramic art movement’s development for the past 40 years. He continued to build his collection on the basis of relationships with artists during his over 30 years of experience as a partner at the Ferrin Gallery. He has served as research manager for The Marks Project, a searchable online database documenting the marks of ceramic makers working in America from 1946 to the present. The Donald Clark Collection illuminates the rise of the studio pottery movement and was exhibited at the Springfield Museums in 2018. clark writes for publications such as Ceramics Monthly and Studio Potter and he is the author of the book Making a Living in Crafts.
Chotsani Elaine Dean is an artist and assistant professor of ceramics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She received her BFA in ceramics from Hartford Art School and her MFA from Sam Fox School of Art at Washington University in St. Louis. She has been in residence at the John Michael Kohler Artist Residency and is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Grant. Dean was the inaugural MJ Do Good resident at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana, held the position of studio manager at Wesleyan Potters in Connecticut, and is the recipient of a Connecticut Arts Grant. She has lectured and exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and has taught at institutions including Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India; University of Connecticut; Connecticut College; and Hartford Art School.
