Photos and reporting by Robert Kokenyesi, Ceramic Artist, Beachfront Pottery, Godfrey, IL, 62035, USA. If you enjoyed this post, then give me a “like” on my Facebook page. There is additional information about Beachfront Pottery on my web site.
The Venue
The “Child’s Play” exhibit took place at the Foundry Art Centre at St Charles, Missouri from January 4-February 15, 2019.
The title wall is a tradition at the Foundry exhibits; the next picture is the exhibit space photographed from the title wall.
The Call for Entry
Memories and experiences of childhood become imprinted on the consciousness in a permanent way. Seeing toys we played with, pictures we drew, and characters that were real or imaginary give us a sense of nostalgia. “Child’s Play” is an international, all-media exhibition celebrating the child within. The concept of this show is to revisit childlike ideas, behaviors, symbols, and imagery to bring some whimsy and childlike innocence into our adult lives.
Artists are invited to submit up to three pieces of work they believe reflect the experience of childhood.
Nationally respected Artist Tim Liddy will serve as juror for this exhibition. Liddy is known for his body of work featuring mid-twentieth-century board games.
The Ceramic Art Pieces
Ryan writes about these pieces: “The heart of my work has always been centered on the human condition, more specifically, my own condition. As viewers we can identify with what it means to be human, and the everyday chaos that comes with our daily lives. The creation process is a source of therapy. Through this process of making and self discovery I try to connect with the frustration, disgust, happiness, and pain that I feel internally and that is present in our society/popular culture. I use the human form while also substituting such objects as dolls, tools, furniture, and toys to make a medley with which the viewer can engage. Such issues as innocence, mortality and the potency of humanity are constant filaments within my design process. My work can be very dark and surreal. I’m greatly influence by the California Funk Art Movement which was anti-establishment and reacted to non-objective art in the 1960s. Funk artists placed everyday objects in irrational arrangements as a protest the slick forms of the abstract movement. That absurdity has also carried over to my work which tends to have a whimsical playfulness to its composition. ” You can check our more of Ryan’s work at his web site.
Suzanne writes about these pieces: ”
It is, but it isn’t… It is reality, or is it a representation of reality? Trompe l’oeil is the art of illusion. It is a game artists play with spectators to raise questions about the nature of art and perception. To a casual observer my sculptures may appear real. In reality everything was created using porcelain clay that has been manipulated, molded, extruded, printed upon, and assembled into a still life sculpture to capture the essence of the theme.
As a clay artist I am constantly challenged to use all the information and tricks of the trade that I’ve learned during me career to make the viewer believe that the pieces look real. I want the viewer to interact with the pieces: – to touch them, to feel their texture, to look a second time.
What you feel if you dare to touch… It is not what you see…” You can see more of Suzanne’s work at her web site.
Lauren states about this piece: “I work in a variety of techniques including sculpture and digital media. Reoccurring themes include metaphors that depict childhood labeling, and our human struggles with control. My work frequently deals with the formation of childhood and the incredible difficulties that can be encountered in that process of growth. My work combines the apparent innocent objects of youth with items of the everyday world and with text in ways that are evocative of that particularly vulnerable time.” Check out her other works on her web site.