From now through Sept. 17, The Clay Studio will be highlighting three new exhibits for visitors to view, and they all celebrate the works of the venue’s resident artists. Currently, the Clay Studio’s Jill Bonovitz Gallery is hosting ‘Living Art’ by Ruth Easterbrook, ‘Stillness is the Move’ by Chris M. Rodgers, and ‘Give and Take’ by Stephanie Kantor.
“The Resident Artists represent the creative engine of our organization” said Jennifer Zwilling, Curator and Director of Artistic Programs in a statement.
Zwilling continued: “This highly selective program supports up and coming artists as they establish themselves in our artistic community. The work of Easterbrook, Rodgers, and Kantor show the range and depth of meaning achievable when artists master the skill and metaphor possible when working with clay as their medium.”
Easterbrook’s exhibit, ‘Living Art’ essentially furthers her mission to create art for everyday life. The artist currently makes pottery, which she’s been involved with since high school and studied (earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics) at Syracuse University. After assisting at Hoyman-Browne Studios in California and assisting various artists, Easterbrook then earned a Master in Fine Arts degree in 2019, and continues her research as an Artist-in-Residence at The Harvard Ceramics Program in Massachusetts and The Clay Studio.
As a release states, the artist essentially makes pottery using a range of techniques from the coil and slab to the wheel, responding to the mark of her hand in each. Form and surface are tightly intertwined, one informing the other. Easterbrook’s floral motifs are mapping out of cone six glazes that enable her to consider the design, color, as well as the sheen and viscosity of each glaze.
According to Easterbrook, her crafting techniques capture her belief that, “Pottery is a living art that celebrates inherent vitality within everyday objects, reminding us of our humanity and inviting us to engage, interact, and find solace in the tangible and transient.”
‘Stillness is the Move’ by Chris M. Rodgers, on the other hand, comes from the artist’s interest in the histories of objects, and how the ideas and stories embedded within them change over time.
Rodgers explains: “I aim to create a dynamic and ever-evolving experience. Each observer’s perspective is in constant flux, yet uniquely singular. I believe that engaging with sculpture in person, as intended, rather than through digital mediums, offers a profound and singular encounter comprising multiple individual experiences.”
Originally from Charleston, the artist earned his Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia State University. He spent several years in Beijing, China before continuing his education at Kansas State University. Through his exhibition, visitors will be able to see Rodger’s inspiration from the Japanese concept of “ma,” which has an emphasis on the intentionality and importance of physical and temporal negative space, the release also states.
And finally, ‘Give and Take’ by Stephanie Kantor will be on display. Through this third exhibit, Philadelphians will be able to see the artist’s whimsical installations that include ceramic sculptures, furniture, papier-mâché, painting, and textiles.
As a release states, through Give and Take, Kantor explores the monumental and transformative experience of becoming a mother and simultaneously losing her mother. She explains “I experienced a barrage of dichotomous emotions; joy and sorrow, happiness and anxiety, exhaustion and exhilaration. I now understand the selfishness and selflessness that are critical aspects of being a child and a mother.”
The artist, who studied at Penn State University and who was a Black Cube Nomadic Museum Fellow in 2016 and Master of Fine Arts from University of Colorado Boulder in 2015 uses her personal journey along with historic arts and ceramics. Kantor creates pieces with varying depth some as she describes “a cartoon-ish self-portrait,” “layered in metaphor” and others “intuitive as I lost myself in the process of making them.”
To learn more about The Clay Studio (1425 N American St.), and its new exhibitions, visit theclaystudio.org
