Exhibitions

Want to see a whole lotta work? /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

If you are attending the NCECA conference in Minneapolis, you are in luck! I will be there at the Objective Clay booth exhibiting my work from Tuesday, March 26 - Friday, March 29th at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

I am hoping to bring close to 100 (!) pieces to the show. No conference pass is needed to see the Gallery Expo. The hours of the Gallery Expo are 6:30pm - 8pm on Tuesday night, 9-5pm Wednesday and Thursday and 8:30 - 4:30pm on Friday. At 11am on Wednesday, March 27th I will be in the Objective Clay Gallery booth giving a short (20 minutes-ish) talk about my work. If you would like to hear me talk about it or have some questions to ask me, please feel free to come by!

Most of the work I will be bringing with me will be the dark stoneware with terra sig. I am really excited about it and hope you are too!

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Milwaukee and back /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

Better late than never...this summer my husband and I took my first ever trip to Milwaukee. I know, I know! It's pretty bad that Milwaukee only lies 90 minutes from our doorstep and I had never made the trek, but a few weeks ago we went up there to see the Face Jugs exhibition that they had. 

Unfortunately, the exhibition has now moved on, but there were a lot of other incredible pieces of work to see. The Face Jugs exhibition is traveling and it will be on view at the Columbia Museum of Art September 28 - December 16.

 

Two other  pieces that were interesting to me were Robert Morris vs. Eva Hesse

It's interesting to see two artist play with the same idea, but both end up with a very different result!

 

Realizing Roy /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

Yesterday I went to the Art Institute and saw the new Roy Lichtenstein exhibition. I really didn't think I would like it very much. I am not a big fan of Pop Art and I always thought that Lichtenstein was kind of a one note tune.  I think I may have to eat my words....

While, yes, Roy Lichtenstein stayed very much in the same style of painting for most of his career, this exhibition truly knocked my socks off.  A lot of what I had seen of his was this comic books like paintings of women in distress, but his sculptures, his mirror paintings and his architectural paintings were absolutely incredible!

Regarding his sculptures, it is a simple thing to make a flat image look "flat".  It's a whole other deal to make a 3-dimensional object appear flat. 

 

My absolute favorite works out of this exhibition were his mirror paintings.  Walking up to a mirror, you expect yourself to fill the object; when nothing appears, when nothing reflects, you reexamine how you approach certain familiar objects.  When I am no longer the focus within the object, how does that make me feel about something where I am no longer the subject?

New Work with the Nevica Project /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

I just finished up an entirely new body of work. I must admit I have been a little nervous of how other people may like or not like it.  I think I have made a decision to step away from making all of the little lines on the pots. I loved them, and for the moment, I have fallen out of love with them.  I want my work to feel more mature and less cute.  I really hope that you like this new group of vessels. If you want, please let me know what you think!

 

The exhibition goes live tomorrow!

Check it out here:  The Nevica Project

Here are a few pieces that are my fav's

Radical Hospitality in the Identical Lunch /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

What is that you say?  Radical hospitality in the form of an identical lunch? Odd, but twas so at the SMART.

Almost 2 weeks ago I went to the SMART Musem's Symposium on Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art.  There were numerous fabulous presentors who spoke about topics such as: what it means to be a "Good Host" versus a "Bad Host" (as in the case of Enemy Kitchen) or how to incorporate ritual of eating together in mixed company (as in the case of Theaster Gates Soul Food Dinners).  It was also the World Premiere for the FLUXUS Blender Symphony of the Identical Lunch conducted by Alison Knowles.  It was such a great day of learning about how different artists (particularly non-ceramic/pottery artists) perceive the idea of sharing a meal and how that creates community for the good or in some instances bad.  Michael Rakowitz's "Enemy Kitchen" project is a really fascinating intersection of good host/bad host where Iraqi war vets serve Iraqi food served on paper plates of Sadam Hussein's china pattern.  It was really incredible!

Blender Prepared-ness

 

Pouring the buttermilk, hold the mayo!

 

 The Blender Symphony is about to begin!

 

 

The blended "Identical Lunch" oddly really did taste like a liquid tunafish sandwich... I am not saying that it was bad...or that it was good either.

 

The Enemy Food Truck

Utilitarian Clay Conference: Celebrate the Object /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

I have been holding off on posting anything about this until I had the final list of artists and bit more information about the Arrowmont Utilitarian Clay Conference this fall, but the cat is finally out of the bag!  Registration starts in a couple of weeks and it is limited to only 200 people, Wowza! That's not too many!

So sign up right away if you want to go.  Here's the crew of presenters (I am so excited to hang out with these artists for a week!):  Jen Allen · Nicholas Bivins · Blair Clemo · Sunshine Cobb · Molly Hatch · Bryan Hopkins · Brian Jones · Lindsay Oesterritter · Doug Peltzman · Peter Pinnell · Monica Ripley · Emily Schroeder Willis · Deborah Schwartzkopf · Kevin Snipes · Shawn Spangler · Shoko Teruyama · gwendolyn yoppolo 

 

 

Dishing it Up! /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

This morning I found a lovely little email in my Inbox.  Apparently, I am featured in a new Canadian Design Magazine titled, Pure Green!  I hadn't ever heard about this magazine before, but I am really impressed by the layout and the way they have documented the work throughout. It's quite beautiful!  I ordered my copy today since I want to see what else they have up their sleeve!

Also, if anyone wants to own that little pink and grey delight, it is available through the Lillstreet Gallery.

 

C is for Cup Show! /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

Jayson Lawfer and I have been asked to jury a cup show at the Clay Studio of Missoula.  The applications are due to be received by November 18th, so the deadline is coming up quickly!  It's actually a very reasonably priced juried show - $22 for 2 entries.  Make sure you send in your cups! Jayson and I are really excited about seeing what you all have made!

 

Here is the prospectus you can fill out and send in with your images!

 

 

B is for Bruchenhein /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

or Eugene Von Brunchenhein, or EVB, whatever you want to call him.  EVB has quickly become one of my favorite artists.  Currently there is a show up at Intuit Museum for Outsider Art of his work.  It is mind blowing!  I went this morning with my studiomate Jen FitzGerald to check out the show. I could probably go and see it every day until it closes and not get tired of it.  Apparently, as I learned today, he dug all of his clay from a clay pit nearby in Milwaukee.  None of his worked was ever fired in a kiln, only in his oven, so the work is extremely fragile.  He also made a series of pieces out of chicken bones.  It is absolutely incredible work.

Eugene Von Bruchenehein, censor vesselEugene Von Bruchenhein, vaseEugene Von Brunchenhein, crownEugene Von Brunchenhein, censor vesselEugene Von Brunchenhein, vaseI love that this sculpture of his turns a mason jar cap into a pedestal!

Eugene Von Brunchenhein, chicken bone sculptureMove EVB chicken bone sculptures

Pilsen 2nd Fridays /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

Matt and I have been trying to do a bit more exploring in Chicago.  A lot of times it can be difficult to do this since it seems nearly every weekend there is something happening at Lillstreet that I want to participate in.  But this weekend we headed south and we went to the Pilsen 2nd Fridays event.  WOW. I was really amazed at the quantity of artists who were showing.  There were so many fabulous gallery spaces, it just made me drool. I told Matt, if it wasn't for him, I would be moving in to a new space on Saturday.  Two of the highlights for me were artists Michele Lauriat who made incredible guash paintings that were nearly 12 feet high.  Absolutely stunning.  They completely engulfed the viewer, but what mesmerized me was how she layering the paint and the negative space, which felt to me like lapses of memory in recalling a landscape in your mind. 

York Beach, by Michele LauriatLogging, by Michele Lauriat

 

The other person who blew me away was designer Chris Jamison.  He founded the workshop, Plywood Office, the work is simple and beatifull crafted.  I want two of the Stripe endtables!

Stripes End Table by Plywood Office

The Horsey Desk, by Plywood Office

Here and gone! /  by Emily Schroeder Willis

Wow.  I can't believe that it is only about two weeks after I unloaded my last kiln.  Well, the good news is that the refired work turned out quite nice and it filled out my studio space to the brim!  Also, now my work will be available at two new places, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas and at Willock & Sax Gallery in Banff, Canada.  Good news for you Canadian collectors (wink, wink.)     But the sad news is that I think there are only 5 pieces or so left in my studio from the most recent firing!  I knew there were quite a few shows and galleries that were requesting work, but I really didn't think it was going to wipe me out in the way that it did.  If you are looking for something specific, let me know.  I have a handful of cups that are still available and some serving dishes.  I will post a few studio shots too of a few of the pieces that came out. Enjoy!