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Contemporary ceramic pieces like those above and below will be featured in an exhibition of Artaxis artists March 24 through April 18 at Northwest. (Photo courtesy of Artaxis)
Northwest Missouri State University’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts will host a juried exhibition of contemporary ceramics in its Olive DeLuce Art Gallery, beginning March 24.
(Photo courtesy of Artaxis)
(Photo courtesy of Artaxis)
The exhibit features artists affiliated with Artaxis, an organization founded in 2005 and now comprising more than 900 artists from at least 50 countries. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, continues through April 18 and includes a reception with an artist talk at 7 p.m. Monday, April 7, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building.
“We are getting a world-class show,” Veronica Watkins, a Northwest associate professor of art who is coordinating the exhibit. “Seeing this fantastic work helps a blossoming undergraduate artist imagine possibilities for their own creative future and for the non-art major an awe-inspiring awareness of the breadth of what clay can do as a communicative material.”
In addition to seeking exhibitions and other opportunities for its community of artists, Artaxis serves as an effective online resource for students and educators interested in discovering new artists and approaches. Direct interaction with artists is encouraged at artaxis.org, which also offers artist statements and curriculum vitae, interviews and discussions.
Noting Artaxis’s significance as a networking and resource-based organization, Watkins said art students benefit from learning about professional organizations and ways they can get involved outside of academia.
“The ceramic arts are experiencing a revival now and there is a lot of energy cycling around it,” Watkins said. “I envisioned a ceramics exhibition that would be broad in terms of context, concept and process. I also love collaboration and bringing the best experiences possible to our students and the greater Maryville community.”
Northwest is co-sponsoring the exhibit with the Missouri Arts Council. In conjunction, two Artaxis jurors, Margaret Bohls and Casey Whittier, will visit Northwest to present the April 7 artist talk. Bohls also will be in Northwest art studios for a two-day workshop April 7-8.
“It is really a win-win venture with both Northwest and Artaxis bringing our strengths and assets together to do something multifaceted and quite special,” Watkins said.
Watkins added, “Northwest has a long-standing reputation of excellence in ceramic arts that in many ways still sits on the shoulders of Russ Schmaljohn, who for decades invested in his students and future teachers that have spread Northwest roots all over the region. Our students are in studio practices, graduate programs, artist residencies and classrooms all over. I am proud of our legacy and projects like this one are an investment in the continued successes of our students.”
The Olive DeLuce Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, 1 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 1 pm Friday. For more information about the gallery, call 660.562.1326 or email fparts@nwmissouri.edu.
For more information about the Artaxis exhibition, contact Watkins at watkins@nwmissouri.edu or Dr. Karen Britt, a Northwest associate professor of art, at kbritt@nwmissouri.edu.
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Northwest hosting ‘world-class’ ceramics exhibit March 24 through April 7 – News Release | Media Center | Northwest
