APRIL 30 – JUNE 20, 2021
Main Gallery
Virtual Exhibition: May 6 (online)
This year, Northern Clay Center marks its 30th Anniversary with a group exhibition featuring the work of artists who have been at the core of a vibrant exhibition program over the years. It would be folly to think it possible to embody the full range of the contributions of the many talented, thrilling, controversial, and wise voices of 30 years of exhibiting artists, let alone offer an exhaustive exploration, in one exhibition. Rather, it’s intended as an elegant sampling of relationships and the possibilities of clay as a medium.
The name Pearl was selected for this exhibition to set the tone of celebration with a bit of traditional sentimentality, but also as a nod to the hundreds of thousands of people who wore pearls this past January to celebrate the inauguration. For many that day, pearls signified resilience, grace, unity, and poise. Pearls were a symbol of collective celebration of diversity in leadership and inclusion in decision making. NCC is filled with a 30-year history of devoted hard work, out of the spotlight, to build and advocate for the clay community. But it is the road ahead—filled with continued education and transparent action to ensure that community is diverse, genuinely equitable, impactful, and welcoming—that is something to truly celebrate.
Exhibiting artists include Tom Bartel, Birdie Boone, Kevin Caufield, Adam Chau, Linda Christianson, Sam Chung, Kelly Connole, Ron Geibel, Guillermo Guardia, Dawn Holder, Alisa Holen, Randy Johnston, Ani Kasten, Kathy King, Forrest Lesch-Middelton, Lung-Chieh Lin, Jan McKeachie Johnston, Mika Negishi Laidlaw, Mike Norman, Virgil Ortiz, Helen Otterson, Mark Pharis, Steve Rolf, Monica Rudquist, Amy Sabrina, Amy Santoferraro, Andy Shaw, Olivia Tani, Anne Türn, and Maya Vivas.