Juried by Shoji Satake. Since the 1950’s ceramic artists have been intentionally manipulating thrown work for reasons beyond the utility of adding a handle or pinching a spout. As mass production overwhelmed craft, the tradition of thrown functional pottery found new purpose in a conceptualized aesthetic approach to object making. Contemporary ceramicists now work with a built in tradition that includes an acute awareness of their material’s essence and potential. Through the practice of throwing then altering their work, artists continue to develop both formal aspects of the tradition, as well as further investigate experimental possibilities.
Allee Etheridge . Dino Capaldi . Scott Cornish . Sharon Gardner . Sarah German . Trevor John Herceg . Stephen Heywood . Sidra Kaluszka . Lola J. Logsdon . Karen McKee . Sandra Moore . Aysha Peltz . Shana Salaff . Zoey B. Scheler . Jonathan Schwarz . Nicole Serra . Earle Smith . Joan Ulrich
Shoji Satake, born in Kyoto, Japan and raised in Anchorage, Alaska received his BA in Studio Art and BA in Government from The College of William and Mary in 1996. He received his MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2004. Shoji currently resides in Morgantown, West Virginia with his artist wife Jennifer Allen. He is an assistant professor and ceramics area head at West Virginia University. Shoji has also taught at Indiana University, Hope College and at Central Michigan University.
Shoji has conducted workshops and exhibited nationally and internationally. Some of his most recent activities include the artist residency at the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation Westport, Maine, Summer Visiting Artist Workshop/lectures at Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, Guangxi Art Academy in the People’s Republic of China. Recent exhibitions include solo, two-person, and multiple group shows throughout the US and China.