Monday, September 17, 2012

Ceramics Annual of America 2012

Esther Shimazu, Dragon / 2011, stoneware

When I bought a book at the used book store at Fort Mason last Friday, the cashier gave me a pass for the Ceramics Annual of America. This turned out to be a large 3-day exhibit of ceramic sculptures, with works mostly by Bay Area artists. 2 flamboyant lithographs by Robert Arneson are at the entrance, & I learned that many of the sculptors in the show are Arneson's direct artistic progeny.
Carmen Lang, Trophies at play / 2011, white stoneware, glazes
Pieces ranged from these small, uninhibited figurines...

Lisa Reinertson, River / 1989, ceramic
...to this larger-than-life reclining figure.

Claudia Tarantino, Collections / 2011, porcelain
There were abundant displays of virtuosity. When I told the artist that I couldn't tell which items in this assemblage were real, she explained that everything but the marbles & the jacks is porcelain.
Evan Hobart, Away we go / 2010, Stoneware ceramic, steel
It was hard to stop looking at Evan Hobart's City Skulls sculptures, overbuilt cityscapes in the shape of dinosaur skulls.
I love their traffic jams, inspired by matchbox cars.
Avery Palmer, Posterity / 2011, ceramic
This sleeping head in Avery Palmer's surreal construction almost seemed to be breathing.
Shalene Valenzuela, Proper/Improper pumps / 2001
Many pieces were amusingly anti-classical, like Shalene Valenzuela's ceramic versions of a housewife's accessories ...
 Belinda Berger, Country Life, "The Big Piggery" / 2012, earthenware
... & Belinda Berger's pile-up of pigs.
The pavilion's open space never felt crowded. There seemed to be a lot of art students checking out the show during my visit late Saturday afternoon. Many of the artists were present. Some were chatty & informative. Others silently watched over the people viewing their work. Sadly, I missed the pottery wheel demonstrations.

§ Ceramics Annual of America 2012
September 14 - 16, 2012
Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason

4 comments:

Civic Center said...

Great report and photos.

Axel Feldheim said...

Thanks! I'd never even heard of the CAA before, so this was a total gift. I took a lot more pictures, & the show was much more diverse than what I wrote about.

Kristi said...

Hi, good news the CAA will be returning to San Francisco this year. This year we will be partnering with the city of San Francisco and holding it the Civic Center. There will be artists from around the world exhibiting and the city will be showing works by famous artists from their collection as well. We also will have hands on demos throughout the weekend. October 18-20. www.ceramicsannual.org. We are also taking artists submissions until July 1st.

Axel Feldheim said...

Kristi: Thanks for the advance notice. I hope I can check it out again!