Photos and reporting by Robert Kokenyesi, Ceramic Artist, Beachfront Pottery, Godfrey, IL, 62035, USA. If you enjoyed this post, then like the post, and also like my Facebook page. Check out Beachfront Pottery posts on Instagram @beachfrontpottery. There is additional information about Beachfront Pottery on my web site.
The Venue
The Ann Maritz Members Exhibition is on display from November 20, 2020 through January 2, 2021 in the gallery of the St Louis Artists’ Guild in Clayton, Missouri.
These pictures show the gallery during the exhibit. The first picture is what you see straight ahead after coming down the ramp. The second picture is showing what you see after turning to the right after the initial section of the gallery.
The Call for Entry
The call for entry for this exhibit read: “The Ann Maritz Members Exhibition is an all-media, all-content, juried exhibition open to artists who are members of the St. Louis Artists’ Guild”.
The Ceramic Art Pieces
The only ceramic art pieces were by me.
The artist statement for this piece: Science sometimes struggles to explain things. Sharks have been around for 400 million years, and science can’t pinpoint why sharks didn’t go extinct like dinosaurs and many other creatures. This piece explores those mysterious, ancient survival traits that helped the sharks: stubborn curiosity, opportunistic agility, and being one with the oceans.
The “Ancient” series of ceramic sculptures started out with sharks, and then continued onto manta rays and whales. I wrote several posts about construction process and the inspiration behind.
The narrative for this piece: In the 27th century undersea archeologists excavated a coastal settlement inundated by the rising sea level during the 25th century. The excavated artifacts reveal a culture that lost the ability to make ceramic items from clay. Thus, utilitarian and decorative ceramic items were made by assembling scavenged bisque fragments.
This piece was made (together with two others) a month or two before the Covid epidemic began, so the inspirations behind it is not the face mask worn for protection, but funerary masks that are part of the culture of that excavated settlement from the 25th century.
The Seafloor Archaeology series combine ceramics with metal items; in this piece the dark structures are steel bolts oxidized during firing in the kiln.