Clay Art Center's 'A Seat At The Table' Opening Soon

PORT CHESTER, NY — There might not be a medium that more perfectly embodies the marriage of form and function than pottery. That long legacy of life-saving utility and artistic expression will be celebrated in the Hudson Valley at the Clay Art Center.

The Clay Art Center announced that they will soon be presenting their 1st Annual Functional Fall Exhibition, "A Seat at The Table." This National Call For Entry Exhibition will be guest juried by Jessica Putnam Phillips, and will bring "everyone to the table through ceramics that serve, featuring work from artists at all stages of their careers throughout the US."

"This exhibition of functional ceramics focuses on the concept of 'service' in tableware," Putnam-Phillips said. "Encompassing a wide range of ceramic styles from evocative shapes made to serve functionally, to conceptual and narrative work that explores the ideas of serving beyond the traditional role as a vessel for a meal, these objects set the table for a dialog between maker and viewer. This exhibition aims to present ceramics that bring people together for discourse and sustenance for the mind, body, and soul."

Participating artists will include: Vasfiie Abderafi, Madeleine Althoff, Rana Amirtahmasebi, Marion Angelica, Ian Bassett, Jacob Bassett, Maxine Bell, Michael Blair, Yael Braha, Angel Brame, Asta Bubliene, Jeanne Carreau, Jess Cropper-Alt, Orit Daly, Diane DiMauro, Beverly Fetterman, Vicki Finkel, Linda Fitz Gibbon, Richa Gupta, Ian Hazard-Bill, Robin Heschel, Amy Henson, Emma Herz, Lindsay Hitch, Jeremiah Ibarra, Deborah Kaplan, Karina Larsen, Stacy Larson, Beth Lee, Jamie Lee, Sheetal Mehta, Laura Montoya, Kay Petronio, Katie Reeves, Kristyn Rohrer, Mark Rossier, Jocelyn Russell, Shana Salaff, Amy Schnitzer, Amie Sell, Elizabeth Tolson, Suruchi Tripathi, Ann Wetzel and GH Wood.

The opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 9, from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Guest Juror Jessica Putnam-Phillips will attend the reception, and award juror prizes.

In addition, Putnam-Phillips will present a hands-on workshop on Surface Decoration and Embellishment on Saturday, September 9 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Clay Art Center says that students will be able to work on several different techniques to explore surface qualities and finishes in clay, with the resulting sampler wall quilt to be used decoratively as well as for reference.

Putnam-Phillips is a ceramic artist, USAF veteran and educator. She received her MFA from the Art Institute of Boston and her BA from UNC-Wilmington. Putnam-Phillips was a resident artist at the Saratoga Clay Art Center and at AIR Vallauris, France. She actively promotes ceramic art and education and is the founder of ClayShare, an online school for ceramic learning. Her work has been in national and international exhibitions, including the Museum of Craft and Design, the Craft and Folk-Art Museum, the American Museum of Ceramic Art and the Veterans’ Art Museum. Putnam-Phillips is a past winner of the Zanesville Prize and was named a potter to watch by C-File. She has been a presenter at NCECA, ClayCon West and the Veterans Triennale and Art Summit. When not traveling for workshops, presentations and residencies Putnam-Phillips can be found in her Vermont studio developing and filming classes for ClayShare and creating new ceramic work.

The exhibition will be avaiable for viewing online on the Clay Art Center website.

The Clay Art Center is a nationally recognized non-profit center for the advancement and practice of ceramic arts offering exhibitions, clay classes for adults and children, studio spaces for clay artists and outreach programs in the community. It is located at 40 Beech Street in Port Chester. Join the Clay Art Center for virtual & in-person classes, exhibitions and shop on their website.