Revealing Marginalized Groups Through Clay Artworks
In its current THEY exhibition, the Clay Art Center (CAC) in Port Chester engages eight ceramic artists whose works, by examining social topics like race, religion and legal status, give a voice to marginalized individuals. The Center worked with artist and activist Robert Lugo, whose artworks pulls elements of hip-hop, history and politics into formal ceramic vessels, and asked him to invite seven other artists to participate in the show. According to Lugo, the works in the show encourage the “employment of empathy instead of competition” when it comes to our differences as a society.
The other exhibited artists include: Jennifer Ling-Datchuk, Christina Erives, Kahlil Irving, Lauren Sandler, Malcolm Mobutu-Smith, Courtney Leonard, and Nathan Murray. Each artist presents ceramics in a way that retains accountability while bringing awareness to oppression: inspired by urban environments, Mobutu-Smith interjects racially-charged imagery into his pieces as a way of adding to a conversation about how the arts can be a platform for activism and change; Sandler considers our assumptions of what “normal,” “beauty” and “worth” look like as she addresses those who are overlooked; and Erives’s work stems from her Mexican heritage and the fear that traditions will be lost to new generations.
An opening reception will take place on April 7. THEY will be on view through May 26. An April 29 symposium will offer a panel, moderated by Lugo, which will discuss social justice issues while also examining how art can be a catalyst for conversation. The exhibition is among four taking place throughout CAC’s year. Each of these four exhibitions will follow a theme of examining social justice and maneuvering life within a global society. For more info, visit clayartcenter.org.
A version of this article first appeared in the April issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.
