One of my favorite galleries is Lacoste, in Concord, MA–which features nationally and internationally known ceramicists–as well as emerging artists. Founded by Lucy Lacoste,  a ceramicist herself, the gallery shown the work of 80 or more artists.  Over the years, I’ve much admired Lacoste’s striking displays–which have provided insight and inspiration for my own writing and art.

The current exhibit, which runs November 19-December 4, 2016, is NORDIC LIGHT, features the work  of Anne Fløche and Hans Vangsø,  partners in life who work independently interpreting contemporary ceramics in Aarhus, Denmark. As Lucy Lacoste explains:

 

Anne Fløche is a Danish clay sculptor experimenting with various forms and colors in clay by using utensils or implements to make markings on clay surfaces. The color principles of terra sigillata, a clay slip used like a glaze, informs her application of colors which are subtle yet rich in scale. For Anne, clay is a broad canvas whereas glazes, engobes and slips are paints for her artistic expressions. In this exhibition, she is inspired by architectures of different geographical locations. Her sculptures are composed to form landscapes or cityscapes of an imagined world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hans Vangsø is a Danish studio potter mentored by the great Gutte Eriksen, following the rich Scandinavian and Japanese ceramic traditions. His works are simple in form and line yet the surfaces are highly textured. Multiple firing processes and unconventional treatments of surfaces are his hallmark. Vessels are bisque fired then applied with thick glazes, wrapped in seaweed or metal then tightly bound in newspaper before firing to a high temperature.  Bubbles and blisters on the vessel surfaces as a result of these processes are unique in each vessel. Colors are subtle but there are unmistakable markings that appear to have gone through some form of geological stress.  

 

Lacoste Gallery was introduced to the work of Hans Vangsø and Anne Fløche by William Hull, the pre-eminent curator of Danish ceramics in the US. They are partners and share a home on the east coast of Jutland, Denmark.

 

“We have shown Hans Vangsø many times over the years; this is the first full show with him and his partner Anne Fløche. Both are rooted in Scandinavian traditions yet are applying exciting and new treatments to ceramic art. They have come to symbolize the new in Danish ceramics”  Lacoste said.

 

The current show runs through December 4, 2016. Next up is “New Pots, Utility 2, featuring the work of Linda Christianon and Jan McKeachie Johnston, from December 10, 2016-January 7, 2017. An opening reception with Christiabso and Johnston will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2016, from 3-5 pm; the artists will speak on Sunday, December 11, at 2 pm.

–Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is a writer, photographer and communications consultant base in Cambridge, MA.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning pr and digital marketing firm in Kendall Square, Cambridge.

 

Metal, materials  and process bond the largely abstract  landscapes  of  Timothy Kadish (New Paintings) and Jessie Morgan (Night Tides)  in this month’s intriguing show at the Clark Gallery, 145 Lincoln Rd,  in Lincoln, MA.

Both sets of works provoke the viewer to ask–“What is this made of? And how  did the artist do that?”

Morgan’s  elegant abstract, monochromatic work appears, at first, to be photographic or  film-based  but the explanatory materials attest that it is acryllic painted on  aluminum or plexiglass–with wide brushstrokes seeming to form landscapes-sky, ice, water, snow, trees exhibiting  a  shiny, reflecting (and reflective?)  quality.  A few of the works use vibrant blues and greens.

Kadish’s colorful paintings– primitivistic, childlike and seemingly whimsical,  are full of suprises–geometric shapes, animal figures, thick goopy coils of oil paint, metallic  oraments  painted, glued, stapled, pressed or otherwise  attached to the canvas…which isn’t  necessarily canvas.

Neophotosynth – 2009, for example, is an 80 x 60 oil including all of the above, as well as  gouache, silver and gold leaf on silver-colored lead on copper that completely covers a frame .

The longer I stood in front of each painting, the more I found in it and the more I enjoyed it.

Both artists involved me in a process of  discovery that allowed me to absorb,  one step or  stroke at a time, how their concepts and motions brought their work  into being.

The exhibit is worth seeing.  It will be up through January 30.

—Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish HarrisComBlog and Ithaca Diaries Blog.