The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery presents Interactions and Interfaces, an exhibition of recent works by 7 MFA students and candidates from the Ceramics Department at University of North Texas in Denton. This exhibition spans the gamut from sculptural work to functional pottery, highlighting the wonderful plasticity of ceramics. The research of each artist follows a distinct path resulting in a diverse group of works. The theme of Interactions and Interfaces speaks to how we experience the world through physical or digital means and how it contributes to identity, values, material culture and cultural objects. The work presented investigates issues that are present in contemporary art and craft in connection to the greater social, political and global arena.
Naomi Peterson investigates the role of ritual and communality in society through making objects that bring people together, which can be touched or give haptic feedback making the viewer aware of their role in relation to the object as well as their relationship to others. Her pieces integrate sculpture and vessel to address the isolation of living during a global pandemic alongside the optimism for a blissful future.
Ben Statser approaches the concept of interaction through a playful lens, creating “toy-like objects” which appeal to adults and address issues of queerness and sexuality. By incorporating minimal and architectural forms paired with bright colors and contrasting finishes the conflict expressed in the work emerges.
Jihye Han uses ceramic and mixed media to construct sculptural and installation based pieces that speak about the role of boundaries and how they affect social interaction, with a particular sensitivity to the influence of her Korean heritage and international upbringing. Her surface decoration and forms touch on questions about how we are connected or disconnected through space, time, and material.
Amy Henson combines richly textured pottery with ornate decorated surfaces and mixed media installations to address issues of feminism oriented around her lived experience as artist, woman, and mother. Her pieces invite an intimate sisterly gathering or a moment of reflection about the fecund potential and sacred space of a woman’s body.
Bri Shimer is invested in codifying the relationship between culture and landscape. The contemplative interactivity of her utilitarian object groupings honor both the intimacy of tableware and the sublime stillness of a natural vista, asking to be cherished as personal objects.
Eric Grasham utilizes concepts of ritual artefacts coupled with exploration of their cultural implications to engender introspection. With instilled landscape, highly intentional design, and the intuitive sculpting of components, a whole which addresses longing and responsibility emerges from his work.
Courtney Segrest creates contemporary sculpture and ceramics to encapsulate memories and our emotional ties to them owing to the human compulsion to pursue immortality, which often manifests in the exaltation or preservation of our individual and shared past. Her brightly colored, chain mail, coil built dwellings are at once childlike and somber.
Whether it is personal discovery, learning how to respect our environment or a moment of happiness, we are innately aware that everything we experience is interconnected.
Interactions and Interfaces will be on display at the John H. Milde Gallery from February 12th through March 12th, 2021. The gallery is open from 11:00 AM-4:00 PM Monday through Friday. Visitors can schedule an appointment to view the exhibition during regular visiting hours by contacting goldmarkculturalcenter@gmail.com.
