JANUARY 13 – FEBRUARY 26, 2017
Emily Galusha Gallery
Join us for talks by each of the artists: Friday, January 13, 4 pm.
Opening Reception: Friday, January 13, 6 – 8 pm
The Fogelberg, Anonymous Potter, and Red Wing Artists exhibition features the work of Megan Mitchell and Joshua Woof, 2015 recipients of the Fogelberg Studio Fellowship; David Swenson, the 2016 Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award recipient; and Pat Barnick and Amanda Dobbratz, recipients of the 2015 Anonymous Potter Studio Fellowship award.
Megan Mitchell’s forms, inspired by architecture and furniture, are altered to imply movement. Her surfaces are dressed with patterns observed from fences, doors, textiles, and windows; geometry is intended to accentuate divisions of space. Enclosures are opened. Exterior landscapes are invited inside recesses of form.
Joshua Woof had just completed his MFA at the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology before heading to Northern Clay Center, where he continued to explore “moments of contrast in natural phenomena.” His work attempts to manifest ephemeral moments through a lens of abstracted interpretation.
David Swenson was quoted in a recent article, regarding his studio practice, “I like to run in screaming,” he said. “I think it’s important to take risks and roll the dice.” This spirit is evident in all of his work. Elaborate curves in his forms are accentuated in surface lines and framing planes. Swenson encourages the user/viewer to run in screaming too.
Pat Barnick is our local hero from Roseville, MN. His developing lexicon is irreverent, yet authentic. A mug is not earthy or rustic. Pat’s mugs are “crass.” He will not deliver a syrup pitcher, but instead produces a “dribbler.” His language and his forms convey the “physical impact and voice” of atmospheric firings—from start to finish.
Amanda Dobbratz gives us enough pattern to keep us delighted and dizzy, but we are grounded with her pinches of restraint in fields of subtly-textured white upon the surface of her vessels. She feels free to play with us in this way because of the “intrinsic understanding of purpose” bound to functional ceramics.