Clay Vessels: Three Views
Oct. 6th - 27th
Special Reception Date: Friday Oct. 6th 6 - 9 pm
An exhibition of new works by internationally recognized ceramic artists Richard Burkett,
Nan Coffin and Joe Molinaro. Join us at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art on Thursday, Oct. 5th at 7pm
for a free lecture by Joe Molinaro: "Evolving Traditions and Outside Influences Facing the Ecuadorian Amazon."
Click here to view the exhibition, or you may select
an artist individually from the list below. Please contact Charlie at (260) 458-9160 or
charlie@claylink.com if you are interested in
purchasing any of the pieces featured in the show. Please include the artist's name,
title, and item number in your correspondence.
Purchase Policies
Artists
| • Richard Burkett | • Nan Coffin | • Joe Molinaro |
Artists' statements
My work hovers between pottery and sculpture. Some pieces move in a sculptural direction, yet
still derive some of their form from vestiges of my more functional work. Other pieces find a
need to be straightforwardly functional, but visually resonate with traces of my sculptural work.
I find this a fascinating interplay, with one body of work informing the other and making both
stronger for their interaction. This recent series of pieces comes from a more functional
aesthetic. Occasional aspects of my work are drawn from memories of dealing with the oddly
functional farm implements and tools left to me by my grandfather. Other elements may come from
memories of chemical glassware in my father's chemistry laboratory. Landscape, particularly the
mesas and rolling terrain of the American west are also influences that appear from time to time
in aspects of my work. I greatly enjoy making work which both delights the hand and the touch,
entices the eye, and engages the intellect of the viewer and user. I only hope this recent group
of pieces engages at least one of these elements in the viewer. Ultimately, it's all a reaction
to living in a heavily industrialized, fast-paced world, now sadly engaged in a meaningless
cultural/religious war, all of which forces one to constantly balance a sense of purpose against
futility, the mechanical with the personal, and the impersonal with the poetical.
- Richard Burkett
As a self-employed potter who works alone, yet enjoys being and socializing with others, clay is
a medium I am able to use to interact with people on a daily basis. I enjoy making and using
functional kitchen ware and table service. When others use my pots in their day-to-day activities,
it's a way for me to communicate and share with them a part of myself. It's the ultimate compliment
when others want to reach out, pick up and ultimately use a piece of my work.
People, nature, seasons -- all have an influence on what I make. As I journey through life, different
friendships and experiences enhance and enrich my attitudes, which are evident in the work produced.
- Nan Coffin
My work in clay is most often about issues relating to pottery forms. Discovering new ways to
look at traditional pottery and how these forms can be viewed sculpturally allows me to create
pieces that can challenge and/or delight. I hope to create forms that are understood easily for
their reference to pottery, yet challenge the viewer by denying access through utility.
In addition, I have an interest in forms that explore aspects of containment that are not directly
related to, or about, pottery. The mystery of the house/dwelling and its interior are my interest
with this work, and outside influences such as the pyramidal structures of the Maya and Inca play
an important role in formulating opinions and ideas relative to this work.
- Joe Molinaro
