Finding the Center: The Clay Art Center Historic Collection

Clay Art Center is thrilled to present Finding the Center, an exhibition of work from Clay Art Center’s historic pottery collection. Please join us for an Opening Reception on Saturday, April 25, from 5:00-7:00pm. 

Finding The Center captures a snapshot of the earliest days of Clay Art Center: who was here, what they were making, and, perhaps most importantly, the convictions that lay at the heart of their work. In creating a cooperative studio dedicated to the advancement of ceramic art, the founding collective of Clay Art Center reflected wider cultural currents that would come to define the mid-century, and laid the groundwork for a stronghold of ceramics education and access that continues its work nearly seven decades later.

This exhibition features pottery from the Clay Art Center’s historic collection that has been little-shown in the past, in addition to archival documents that illuminate the thoughts and hopes of the intrepid artists who made them. The work in this collection is often still germinal, sometimes even unrecognizable in respect to many of the artists’ later, celebrated output.

Grounded in the objects on display, the exhibition will tell the story of those who came before, their impact on this place and the world of ceramics, and how Clay Art Center students and artists stand on the shoulders of giants.

Featured Artists: Viola Frey, Tashiko Takaezu, Makoto Yabe, F. Carlton Ball, Harding Black, Trude Petri-Raben, Ted Randall, Jeff Schlanger, and more.