Thursday, April 25, 2024

Clayscapes
Everson Museum of Art

Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

Clayscapes is a tribute to clay's ubiquitous presence in our lives, and to the powerful metaphorical and spiritual role that it can play. The Everson's famous collection of ceramics is filled with works that explore the landscape—from artist Robert Arneson's monumental celebration of California's mountainous landscape to Uruguayan-born Lidya Buzio's earthy vessels adorned with the skyline of her adopted home in New York City. The collection contains many commercially produced souvenir plates and pitchers meant to commemorate and memorialize specific places. These wares are a distinctive part of the Museum's collection, and they provide inspiration for contemporary artists such as Paul Scott, who makes commemorative plates that reflect the ways that humans have altered the landscape and exploited its resources.

As artists continue to shape clay, Clayscapes recognizes the ways in which clay shapes us. The Everson's ceramic collection is filled with work that documents the joys and sorrows of humankind's relationship with the Earth. This exhibition pays tribute to the powerful connection between artists and the world around them.