The ceramic community has long needed a more comprehensive focus on documentation of artists and exhibits. To mirror this ideology, a database called accessCeramics has been working the last 3 years to create an online collection of contemporary ceramic artist images.  More recently we've seen the rise of critics recognizing the medium, and curators being more inclusive with exhibitions. With this combination of increased documentation and access to ceramic art, we have seen a rise in popularity of this medium.

accessCeramics has been utterly successful, with 235 artists to date representing 14 countries. So what will be the effect of this resource and how will it be utilized? To quote the site  "It is designed for use by artists, arts educators, scholars and the general public, and is intended to fill a void in contemporary ceramics digital image collections on the web." 

Interestingly enough I think the most important audience for this site is curators. Other similar sites have been created encompassing a multitude of mediums. Sites like myartspace.com and artslant.com have served as a resource. One smaller scale initiative based out of Baltimore, Maryland called the Baker Artist Awards represents how successful a site like accessCeramics could be utilized.

The Baker Artist Awards are a city wide art's award with an annual online database of self nominated artists. Introduced this year, curators and the general audience were able to "curate" their favorite artists. Meaning they could put together groups of their favorite artists. This resulted in a series of promoted exhibitions developed from the site.

accessCeramics does not have the same functionality and I am not suggesting it should. With their well rounded database of artists one can draw parallels and pick up on contemporary trends. This serves as a valuable asset to any curator, and the general public interested in ceramic art. I look forward to the future of this site and the creative ways which it will be utilized.

So I just received my October copy of ceramics monthly to find Takashi Hinoda's work on the front. Interestingly I wrote about this work about a year ago in a post concerning low brow ceramics. (See that post here) 

This review by contemporary ceramic artist Naomi Tsukamoto reflects an admirable writing style  with a focus on theory. She analyzes and pulls apart the conceptualization within the work, the inspiration and still includes process. The writing may have been stronger and published in a more inclusive publication if it had omitted the process section. Regardless because this article was in Ceramics Monthly, it was fitting. 

Like most low brow artists, Hinoda was inspired my American comics and Japanese manga. His work also is inspired by the disconnect of culture. The author opens her second paragraph about current societal disconnect which is "flooded by vast amounts of disposable information with no hierarchy". 

This universal ideology that Hinoda explores in bright, whimsical three dimensionality makes his work something worth putting on the map. Historically speaking ceramics has always been late to the trends of the art world (Example Voulkos and Abstract Expressionism) but this may be a sign that this is no longer the case.

Since NCECA's Critical Santa Fe we have seen Ceramics Monthly really be more dedicated to current trends of ceramics. This October issue is a great example of their efforts. So join Bridget Fairbank who just posted about her new subscription last week at bpracticalpottery.com and subscribe to involve yourself in the dialogue. 
 

A little insider info: MMPI (Merchandise Mart Properties Inc) is the largest producer of trade shows and consumer of events in the world. This company is responsible for Art Chicago, The Armory Show, Volta, The Architectural Digest Home Design Show and the One of a Kind Show. This newest series of shows takes place in Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago and ..... not New York apparently.

With New York's Art Fair week in March, the news was covering them all and commenting on the increase of art fairs over the last 20 years. This is most likely due to the economy. Investors are seeing the art market not as hit as hard as others and art fair directors are giving consumers a less expensive way to invest in art then going to the auction house.

Unfortunately rumor has it that not all of the art fairs are working out as expected, including the One of a Kind Show New York. Last year the show was in coordination with the popular Architectural Digest Home Show. The show set to be in the Fall represented independent artist in a mix of mediums, most of which fit in the decorative arts category. According to the artists they were making good connections such as meeting curators, art fair coordinators, ect but they were not making any sales.

The reason was accessibility. As artists one of the first things we learn is to not make the viewer or consumer do too much work. Patrons of the show first had to go through the Home show, then MADE (a section of the show already designed for artists and artisans) and then up chancy metal stairs to a separate space. MADE, which launched in 2008 was very successful unlike the One of a Kind Show which re-enforces my argument of accessibility.

MMPI are obviously superb art business leaders, with more than enough experience. By tapping the market of home enthusiasts they were really hitting their ideal market, but because many of those patrons were initially there to view the Home Show they were not willing to spend extra time and energy to search out these artists. The MADE section of artists and galleries located on the same floor, blurring into the show turned out to be very successful as it always has been in the past.

This was the first time I have made it to SOFA in NY and in my lucky disposition I was able to make it in for the set up. Interestingly enough, upon arrival 29 hours before the VIP preview opening on Wednesday, lights were not yet hung, people had just begun painting and the isles were still exposing the worn wood floor. By 3pm that same day, I saw the first pieces of artwork out and all of the isles were cluttered with boxes, pallets and peanuts.

When I came back Friday to see the show, there was not a sign in sight of the set-up except for the faint smell of wall paint that added to the clean gallery set up of the space. Ferrin Gallery was the first you saw when you walked in on your left with bold red walls. Chris Antemann had a large presence, as well as Molly Hatch (an avid blogger as well as an artist). On the right of the entrance was more ceramic work represented Joan B. Mirviss Gallery who focuses on contemporary Japanese work. The two booths represented the wide spectrum of ceramics with the masculine stoneware works by Akiyama Yo on one side and the feminine porcelain works on the other.

Clare Beck at Adrienne Sassoon was represented as usual with big artists like Kate Malone, Felicity Aylieff and Michael Eden. In an interview with SOFA's Mark Lyman he expresses his opinion about the high standard of New York's SOFA as compared to Sante Fe or Chicago because of the smaller venue. The Clarke Beck at Adrienne Sassoon was a god example of this. It was refreshing to see such a well ran space with remarkable work from a variety of artists representing very different aesthetics. Another great aspect was that the gallery had the artists there to discuss the work. I dare say that Adrienne Sassoon has some of the best business practices of all the global ceramic focused galleries.

Ornamentum had a solo at SOFA by Jennifer Trask's ornamental work. Her piece "Acanthus" was also used for a significant amount of the marketing material. Her work was well crafted and represented the simply ideology of beauty. The downfall is one may look at her jewelry work and consider it unwearabl, though on the contrary I witnessed a woman trying it on. I was worried about the weight of the piece, the construction, clasping mechanism, I was even scared for the man putting it around this women's neck. Yet she allowed her curls to fall and the piece looked beautiful on her. It was bold and heavy yet still kept the charm and richness of the porcelain.

Other contemporary ceramics to note included Bonnie Seeman represented by Duane Read Gallery. These popular works are made of glazed porcelain with added lamp worked glass details. Maria Elena Kravits represented rising NY artist Bob Clyatt, who is also having a spotlight at An American Craftsman Gallery in Manhattan. Next Step Gallery and Studio (a gallery getting quite a bit of publicity quickly) represented figurative works by artists Joan Rassmussen, Kaiser Suidan and Mark Chatterly. Mark Chattery a Michigan artist is also is having an exhibit at the well established Clay Art Center in Port Chester NY. Christie Brown's figurative doll like rabbit sculptures were represented by Contemporary Applied Arts. While the intriguingly morbid scull like heads of Catrin Howell were represented by Joanna Bird.

In an article by Art Info a collector was quoted saying the following: "The quality has fallen off," groused one disappointed American collector who felt SOFA had dumbed down for commercial reasons alone. "They have third-rate stuff here," continued the ceramics collector who steadfastly declined to be identified. "Is this a show for collectors," she asked, "or is this a show for shoppers?" I would argue with the collectors comment of the quality of the work, but I would agree that works tended to be smaller then I expected, most likely because of galleries were accommodating to a less financially stable market. I believe there was a wide variety of ceramic works, some more well crafted then others. Some were masculine, others feminine. Everything including abstract creations, vessels and figurative works were represented in the ceramic field. Even traditional wood fired ceramics had a place, juxtaposed against brightly painted low fire glazes. After all was said and done artist Bob Cylatt said it best "Everyone works very hard at making it all look easy." This statement applies to both the representing galleries and the artist's work.