Glass, handmade and slip cast porcelain, antiques, plants and – in some cases – water? Yes, that definitely qualifies as ‘mixed media’. This is the wonderfully weird work of Toronto based, Colombian artist Carolina Delgado-Duruflé. Some of her work was recently part of a group show, titled Grow Op, at the Gladstone in Toronto, and this is an excerpt of an interview Carolina did with them. They asked, “What is the message you wish for viewers to take away from your project?” and this was her beautiful answer:

“We live in a world where people treat nature like we are kings. We destroy everything, we cut trees in the Amazon, the lungs of our planet, we open new mines all the time. People need to stop and observe nature. I want them to stop and look at small things. I want them to stop in front of my characters and to see green, to see plants, and to realize that they are alive. I want them to realize that if we continue changing the climate like this, we will destroy everything. There is still time to act and we must act now.”

Amen. Happy Friday.

I’m sure I don’t have to explain how much I love this palette. Oh my word, from ceramic organics, to produce on panels {ok, just the final painting is on panel – the top three pieces are on canvas, but the alliteration was just too good to pass up}. This is the work of Liz Hernandez, a Mexican artist who is now based in California. Here is part of her artist statement:

[Liz] pulls imagery from her memories of living in Mexico City, focusing on the way the mundane and the extraordinary coalesce. Recently her work has been inspired by the idea that food is a language that we can all understand. She explores food as a way to communicate ideas of immigration, community, and home.

Beautiful.

Oh, well hello match made in ceramic heaven!!! Yep, it’s true, American artists Katie Kimmel and Lorien Stern have a two-person show, titled “Very Rare”, opening {virtually} at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York… well, the show isn’t virtual… it’s actually installed, but the opening will be happening tomorrow night, Saturday April 4th, ONLINE! Yes, the gallery will be doing an Instagram live walk through of the show tomorrow, and both Katie and Lorien will participate from their homes in California. Ah, technology. Here is the description of “Very Rare”:

“Drawing on their mutually playful sense of humor, Kimmel and Stern contemplated what is considered ‘very rare’, and how we come to define and categorize something as such. For Lorien Stern, this theme was utilized to place a spotlight on exotic, extinct and near extinct animals, as well as rare versions of the artists well known ceramic shark heads, finished in gold luster. One notable work is a 2+ foot tall albino Komodo dragon, standing upright, tail wrapped around itself and tongue sticking out, while cheekily displaying its long, light blue perfectly manicured finger and toe nails.

Alternatively, Katie Kimmel created a series of ceramic awards and trophies, “haunted fruit”, as well as collectible items such as kitschy memorabilia reminiscent of card store trinkets and stamps. Patron Saint of Friday’s , a large ceramic bust, pays tribute to the working class chain-restaurant waitress, suspenders full of “flair”, proudly carrying a grinning cheeseburger and fries to her next table.”

The gallery will also have a bunch of unique pieces and merchandise from each artist made especially for “Very Rare”… hence making it very rare {see what I did there?}. In addition, a collaborative limited edition print will be released titled “You Are Good” {shown above}. $10 from each print sale will be donated to No Kid Hungry, who are working with schools and food banks to ensure children don’t miss meals due to Coronavirus school closures. These pieces will be available on Hashimoto’s site starting on Thursday, April 9th. Love.

That visor. I’m dying. These are just a couple of the latest ceramic pieces by UK based artist Claire Partington. I wrote about her last year around this time, but these fabulous pieces are included in an upcoming exhibition, titled “Cranach: Artist and Innovator” so I just had to share her work again. Here’s some info about the show:

The archetypal Renaissance man, Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 – 1553) was one of the most successful German artists of all time.

Cranach’s paintings of German nobility and the leaders of the Protestant Reformation made him a highly sought after portraitist in his own time, while today he is best known for his seductive paintings of the female nude, which beautifully express temptation and its consequences. Cranach was also a talented entrepreneur, founding a successful publishing business and producing powerful woodcut illustrations for Luther’s translation of the bible.

Featuring some of Cranach’s most beguiling paintings and illustrations, on loan from the National Gallery, the Royal Collection, the British Museum and Waddesdon Manor, the exhibition will also showcase Cranach’s enduring appeal to a range of modern and contemporary artists, including: John Currin, Isabelle Hayman, Michael Landy, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz, Andrew McIntosh, Ishbel Myerscough, Claire Partington, Pablo Picasso and Raqib Shaw. 

The exhibition will be on view from March 14th through until June 14th 2020 at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.

*Photos by Dan Weill

Well, these ceramics have a little something for everyone on Valentine’s Day! We’ve got some love potion, ridiculously cute fortune cookies, angry sake {if that’s how things are going for you today}, or something to celebrate the deep love you have for your fur baby… yep, everybody’s covered! And who do we have to thank? This is the hilarious and sweet work of UK based artist/illustrator  Amy Victoria Marsh. All of this work, and lots of other weird ‘n wonderful stuff, can be found in Amy’s online shop.

Ceramic sculpture that looks like collage … collage that look like ceramic sculpture … LOVE!!! This is the work of Toronto based artist Stephanie Cormier, and this is a lovely sentence that I pulled from her artist statement that sums up her work for me:

“There is a special attention to wonder, speculation and the limits of human understanding and expression.”

Yep ♥

“Stephanie H. Shih explores concepts of home—not just as a physical place, but also as cultural, generational, and emotional spaces we inhabit—through the lens of Asian-American identity.”

Okay, my mouth is watering because of ceramics. YUM! This is fantastic work of Brooklyn based artist Stephanie H. Shih. I wrote about her golden dumplings when they were part of a group show in San Francisco last year, but I scrolled past that Sriracha bottle on Instagram this morning and immediately started writing this post. Sixteen sculptures from her current body of work will be exhibited at the American Museum of Ceramic Art {Pomona, CA}, March through August of 2020. If you go, you should probably have plans for dim sum immediately afterwards, because I have a feeling you’ll be craving dumplings and spicy sauce!

Hahahahahaha! From hand-lettered vintage plates, to new embroidery on old embroidery – both covered in curse words and blunt sayings – this is the work of  Canadian artist Marie-Claude Marquis:

“… Touching both graphic design and visual arts, she is inspired by souvenirs, nostalgia, pop culture, Quebec identity and her own emotions which she expresses with a feminine touch and a colorful sensitivity. 

In her gallery work, Marie-Claude  has mastered the art of re-appropriation in giving found objects new meaning. T hat way she can give these objects a second life, prolong their existence and reduce her own environmental impact. Mainly by typographical interventions, she always finds a way to give new meanings to these antiques. The result of her work is often humorous, sometimes irreverent but always keeps a big focus on aesthetics.”

Marie-Claude’s latest solo show, titled “We’re All Kinda Fucked Up” opens tomorrow night, Saturday January 11th at Recess in San Francisco {816 Sutter Street}. The opening reception is from 6-9pm, and the show runs until February 1, 2020.

ps. Recess is the newest space by the wonderful people behind Hashimoto Contemporary and Spoke Art. This is their first show at Recess {previously the Spoke space}, so go and check it out! 

This powerful 2017 series, titled #EuropaEuropa, is the brilliant work of Australian artist Penny Byrne. Vintage ceramic refugees, wearing brand new lifejackets, floating on plates and in gravy boats. Her entire portfolio is filled with political statements made with repurposed ceramic figures… as I’m sure you’ll be able to gather from her artist statement:

Penny Byrne is an artist who utilises a variety of mediums to create sculptural works that, at times, elicit visceral responses from viewers. She is concerned with the state of the world and our place in it. Her works ask us to consider where we stand and how we feel, never preaching, but rather gently guiding us to a deeper understanding of our times. She is not afraid to tackle the big issues head on, often with wry humor and wit, and always with a deeply considered and intelligent compassion.

I’m concerned with the state of the world too. Bravo, Penny. Bravo. Happy Monday.

Sigh. The ceramic drawings of Vancouver based artist Genevieve Dionne… I could not love her work more and, somehow, everything she does just keeps getting better and better! I’ve written about Genevieve a few times already (here and here), but the moment I saw those manicured Renaissance hands holding a coffee and donut, well, here we are again. These are Genevieve’s descriptions of both ongoing series:

“Renaissance Hands”: This series of ceramic drawings is inspired by hands and fashions of Women in Renaissance portraits. Objects symbolic of loyalty, chastity, dowry or a husbands wealth (commonly depicted in portraits of women during this time) have been replaced with items of self expression, strength, and knowledge.

“Contemporary Women”: This series of ceramic drawings explores classical representations of women (many of the drawings are inspired by Greek or Roman statues) and stories of women in Greek mythologies. Some drawings place the figure in a contemporary setting by incorporating modern technology, other drawings are a re-imagining of the mythical woman to allow for alternate narratives.

Powerful, beautiful, smart … and also, a few gorgeous plants just because. Happy Monday.