Formed and Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics
This exhibition presents the work of four groundbreaking contemporary American artists whose practices emerge from the history of ceramics and provide both insight into the past and ideas for the future. Kathy Butterly, Kahlil Robert Irving, Simone Leigh, and Brie Ruais are pushing the boundaries of fired clay, building on the work of stalwarts from the past and exploring new questions. While these contemporary artists have distinct visions, they share a reverence for ceramics and its rich, sometimes complicated history. Together, they provide extraordinary insights into the medium’s capacity for individual expression. This exhibition is curated by Jason Linetzky, Director of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University and organized by the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. We gratefully acknowledge the lenders to the exhibition, support from Museum Members and the Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson Charitable Foundation, and an in-kind donation from Farrow & Ball. This brochure is published on the occasion of Formed and Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics at the Anderson Collection at Stanford University March 2020-February 2021.
This exhibition presents the work of four groundbreaking contemporary American artists whose practices emerge from the history of ceramics and provide both insight into the past and ideas for the future. Kathy Butterly, Kahlil Robert Irving, Simone Leigh, and Brie Ruais are pushing the boundaries of fired clay, building on the work of stalwarts from the past and exploring new questions. While these contemporary artists have distinct visions, they share a reverence for ceramics and its rich, sometimes complicated history. Together, they provide extraordinary insights into the medium’s capacity for individual expression.
This exhibition is curated by Jason Linetzky, Director of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University and organized by the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. We gratefully acknowledge the lenders to the exhibition, support from Museum Members and the Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson Charitable Foundation, and an in-kind donation from Farrow & Ball.
This brochure is published on the occasion of Formed and Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics
at the Anderson Collection at Stanford University March 2020-February 2021.
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SIMONE LEIGH<br />
<strong>American</strong>, b. 1967<br />
For more than a quarter century, Leigh has centered her ceramic<br />
practice on the social record <strong>and</strong> experiences of black women, who<br />
become both the subject of <strong>and</strong> audience for her work. Her<br />
sculptures typically blend <strong>and</strong> explore elements of African craft <strong>and</strong><br />
architectural traditions, <strong>American</strong> vernacular art, feminism, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
cultural legacy of colonialism <strong>and</strong> imperialism. With each piece,<br />
Leigh acknowledges a complex history of art, honors the often<br />
anonymous <strong>and</strong> overlooked labor of women, <strong>and</strong> delivers an<br />
encounter with “a kind of experience, a state of being, rather than<br />
one person.”<br />
As with other elements of her artistic practice, these works shift<br />
between abstraction <strong>and</strong> figuration. In Althea (2016), she depicts<br />
facial features that are smoothed <strong>and</strong> refined but not specific, <strong>and</strong><br />
a torso reminiscent of traditional vessels, domed dwellings, <strong>and</strong><br />
skirts. Leigh forms each piece by h<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> utilizes a range of<br />
ceramic materials <strong>and</strong> finishes, typically firing each sculpture<br />
multiple times. Porcelain, cobalt, <strong>and</strong> India ink carry symbolic<br />
weight, <strong>and</strong> the artist employs them to present “femininity as<br />
something solid <strong>and</strong> enduring, rather than fragile <strong>and</strong> weak.” Leigh<br />
has created a space of her own through a masterful touch, merging<br />
of disparate but related sources, <strong>and</strong> celebrating those who have<br />
been significantly underrepresented.<br />
Simone Leigh, Stretch Series #1, 2019, glazed stoneware, 25 x 13 x 13 in. Courtesy of the artist <strong>and</strong> David Kordansky Gallery
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