(STILLWATER, Okla., March 10, 2016) — Artists have long used their creations as powerful vehicles to confront society with major problems of the day, expanding from paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs to installations and electronic media over the last century. Social concern has also become an area of increasing interest in contemporary craft. Nationally traveling exhibition InCiteful Clay offers an unparalleled overview of an emergent movement in contemporary ceramics dedicated to social commentary.
The engaging exhibition, on view from April 4 through May 25 at the OSU Museum of Art, incorporates a broad range of work, including a selection of 26 ceramics from artists who have mustered an age-old medium to issue provocative critiques of current social and political inequities. The premise of the exhibition is organized around five themes: war and politics; the social and human condition; gender issues; environmental concerns; and popular and material culture. The artists have conveyed their messages in styles that are aggressive, violent, disturbing, irreverent, and at times, humorous, but ever passionate. They rely on figurative imagery, narrative content, and a range of expressive avenues, including caricature, parody, satire, obscenity, erotica, and the grotesque. Featured artists in InCiteful Clay include Akio Takamori, Toby Buonagurio, Nuala Creed, Michelle Erickson, Anne Potter, Ehren Tool, Richard Shaw, and Paula Winokur. Traditionally ceramics have served functional and decorative purposes and have been associated with positive experiences. Visitors to this exhibition will come away with a new appreciation for the expressive capabilities of clay media to convey substantive content and to deliver the powerful critiques more routinely seen in painting and sculpture.
InCiteful Clay is curated by Judith S. Schwartz, Ph.D., professor and director of craft media in the Department of Art and Art Professions at New York University. An opening reception, featuring a guest lecture from the curator, is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, from 5 to 7 pm at the OSU Museum of Art. The lecture will begin at 6 pm. The exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), which sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 communities across the country every year. M-AAA is the oldest nonprofit regional arts organization in the United States. More information is available at www.maaa.org and www.eusa.org.
About the OSU Museum of Art
Exhibitions and programs at the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art are sponsored by OSU Museum of Art Advocates, OSU/A&M Board of Regents, and the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information about the OSU Museum of Art, visit museum.okstate.edu or call 405-744-2780. Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU is America’s Brightest Orange. Through leadership and service, OSU is preparing students for a bright future and building a brighter world for all. As Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high- quality teaching, research, and outreach. As America’s Healthiest Campus, OSU is committed to the health and well-being of its students, employees and the community. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 25,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated around 255,000 students to serve the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world.
