#41 – A list of ceramic art books

Ceramics Now Weekly #41 features a list of ceramic art books, the week's news in the ceramics world, and new featured artists.

Oct 18, 2022

Hello! Welcome to the 41st edition of Ceramics Now Weekly. This is Vasi Hirdo, the founding editor of Ceramics Now.

I hope you are doing well today 👋 Let’s see what's new.

A list of ceramic art books

Bookshop.org recently featured our list on their homepage, presenting books on ceramics to (probably) hundreds of thousands of visitors. I created this list about a year ago when searching for a book online. Many other essential books on ceramics are not listed here (and are only available on Amazon), but I will soon create a longer list and publish it in Ceramics Now. If you have any book recommendations, reply to this email.

Bookshop.org is an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops. It is only available in the United States and the United Kingdom.

New featured artists in Ceramics Now

Jay Kvapil's profile was created with the participation of Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami.

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The week’s news in the ceramic world

🔥 The New York Times Style Magazine (T) recently included Lynda Benglis in their 2022 Greats issue, for her ability to transcend the expectations of her craft. Read this fantastic article by Sasha Weiss about Lynda's work. “One of the most influential sculptors since World War II, Benglis changed the trajectory of various artistic movements without ever quite belonging to any of them. At age 80, she’s only beginning to give us a more complete understanding of her work.”

💬 The Ceramics Program at the Office for the Arts at Harvard is hosting an online lecture with Audrey An, Artist in Residence and Instructor at the center. Her creative research revolves around the notion of applying digital technologies to ceramics from the perspective of ‘convergence’, be it cultural, technological, or interdisciplinary. This lecture is taking place later today. Registration is free.

🎓 The School of Art and Design at the San Diego State University invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor (tenure-track), with specialization in Ceramics.

📝 At this year's NCECA conference, Neil Forrest & John Roloff presented "Divinations", an exhibition which began with research cuneiform writing – impressed script into clay tablets. “Clay was the first medium onto which ideas, warnings, and prosaic information was recorded. [...] The paper print of the Tigris and Euphrates on the gallery floor becomes our nod to the Sacramento and American Rivers – our fertile ground. Divinations used an improvised gallery space as operation headquarters and personal library, where we presented an animated floorplan and map that superimposes ancient sites to current ones, making associations and provocations between the Paleolithic, Neolithic and mid-Anthropocene.” Read more abour this project on Ceramics Now.

📌 Oxford Ceramics Fair is taking place later this month at St Edward's School, Oxford. This is the UK’s longest running ceramics event, with over 70 artists showing their work every year.

📙 Take a look at these upcoming book releases:
• October 27 - Wild Clay: Creating Ceramics and Glazes from Natural and Found Resources by Matt Levy, Takuro Shibata, and Hitomi Shibata. This beautifully illustrated guide is the ideal starting point for those wanting to forge a closer bond between their art and their natural surroundings.
• November 22 - Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists by Donald A. Clark and Chotsani Elaine Dean. Sharing their insights in compelling interviews, 38 of today’s Black ceramists demonstrate a diversity of studio practices and ways of using clay. Especially crucial in light of the times, this book helps disperse the fog of noninclusion.
• November - Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art. Foreword by Ralph Rugoff. Texts by Allie Biswas, Marie-Charlotte Carrier, Jarah Das, Hettie Judah, Cliff Lauson, Jenni Lomax, Debbie Meniru, Elinor Morgan, Suzanna Petot, Amy Sherlock. Featuring the work of over 20 international artists—from Grayson Perry to Woody De Othello—this catalog is an exciting contribution to the ongoing conversation about the relationship between art and craft.

🔍 What’s On View: A Gathering: Works from ‘Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists’ is on view at the Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis / Linda Sormin: In & out of order is on view at United Contemporary, Toronto / Ambiguity: Michal Fargo, Susan Metrican, Chase Travaille is on view at LaiSun Keane, Boston / Lung-Chieh Lin: The consciousness of creature is on view at Simple Object, Taipei / MAUMAHARA: Simon Kaan, Wi Taepa is on view at Sanderson Gallery, Auckland / Piet Stockmans: 60 years of passion for art and porcelain is on view at Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur, Tegelen / Julia Ellen Lancaster: Journey to the Centre of the Earth is on view at m2 Gallery, London / Matt Smith: Who Owns History? is on view at Hove Museum of Creativity, Brighton and Hove / Nao Matsunaga: Hybrid of sorts - Hybrid of thoughts is on view at Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, London