Current Exhibits
"Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context, the Work of Carole Harris"
and
"Breaking the Mold: Contemporary Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Sculpture"
opens at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Oct. 2
"Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context, the Work of Carole Harris"
An exhibition of 15 stunning quilts by well-known Michigan interior designer/fiber artist Carole Harris will soon be on display at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum. Textile Extensions: Quilts in a New Context, the Work of Carole Harris opens Friday, Oct. 2.
Harris' rhythmically constructed, non-traditional tapestries are composed of hundreds of richly colored fabrics which are cut, overlaid, appliquéd, pieced and quilted. A professional interior designer and fiber artist, she creates one-of-a-kind, improvisational works that provide warmth and texture to enhance commercial and residential interiors.
"This exhibition presents for the first time a large body of my work representing a period of almost 20 years, a retrospective of sorts," said Harris in a recent interview about her show. "The exhibition will allow both me and the public to view changes and similarities in my work over a long period. One will see how I hold the tradition while expanding the process through the use of texture and by extending the form beyond the rectangle."
Harris' work has been exhibited nationally in museums and galleries over the last 30 years. Her work is in major collections, including The White House, Washington, DC, Michigan State University Museum of Folk Art, East Lansing, Michigan, Harris Bank and Trust and John H. Groger Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois; Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.
"Carole's quilts are not ordinary or traditional. They are comparable to a good jazz composition, improvisational and unpredicted," said Marilyn Wheaton, Museum Director.
A reception to meet the artist will be held at the Museum Saturday, Oct. 3 from 3 - 5 p.m. Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by calling (989) 964-7082.
Harris will talk about her work, the people who influenced her work, and the art of design and quilting at the Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.
"Breaking the Mold: Contemporary Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Sculpture"
Organized by the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City in collaboration with Dai Ichi Gallery in New York City, Breaking the Mold features the work of contemporary ceramicists from China and Japan. The exhibition juxtaposes the themes of Chinese work relationships, Western influences, social issues and human relationships with the Japanese attention to aesthetics of form, texture, color and materials. In each country there is recognition of tradition while breaking with that tradition in technique and subject matter brought on by experimentation and/or changes in society
In all, the exhibition features nine artists from Japan and seven artists from China. The Japanese artists included in the exhibition feature contemporary versions of traditional Japanese pottery styles such as the oribe techniques represented in a beautiful oribe landscape platter by Higashida Shigemasa. Also included is the non-traditional expression of Hinoda Takashi, who is among the youngest generation of Japanese professional ceramic artists and is influenced by comic books, cartoons, animated films and pop art.
The show has been on display at the Dennos Center for the past four months.
The Chinese artists in this exhibition are of the post-cultural revolution generation emerging on to the international art scene and creating work in response to a greater interaction with the West and social issues in China. This is expressed in the work of Li Lihong who combines the traditional artistic motif of dragons on a ceramic version of the McDonalds arch, or Xu Hongbo's stacked porcelain baby figurines a reference to social concerns over the cloning of humans, the devaluing of the individual and population concerns in China.
In both sections of the exhibition, two artists are recognized for leadership roles in influencing the direction of ceramic art in their respective countries. In Japan the first sculptural statements were lead by Hayashi Yasuo, a kamikaze pilot who never received the order for which he had been trained. His efforts lead to the founding of a Japanese avant-garde ceramics group that broke away from the vessel form and utilitarian role of ceramic work, creating objects of art.
In China, Yao Yongkang, from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute was among those who early on explored a sculptural direction in his work. His porcelain sculpture has made him a highly respected artist both in China and internationally, and influential among the new generation of Chinese ceramic artists.
Chinese artist Wan Liya will give a gallery talk at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.
"Mr. Liya will talk about his work, what is going on in the Chinese art world and in Songzhuang where he lives," said Marilyn Wheaton, director of the Fredericks Museum. "We are honored to have him here from China to speak about his work."
"Wan Liya does quite avant-garde work, exploring transformational figures that sometimes reflect traditional Song Dynasty glazing with references to Western influences," said Gene Jenneman, Director of the Dennos Museum Center.
The Museum is grateful to The Dow Chemical Company for sponsoring the exhibition, which runs through January 28, 2010. For more information, call (989) 964-7125 or visit the Museum's website at http://www.marshallfredericks.org/.
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