Bright Hill Press presents the exhibition plate platter plant place prey, a group show available to view until Dec. 15.
The exhibit was conceived and curated by artist Jody Isaacson. It honors her upstate New York ceramic mentors who work in a range of ceramic materials and firing practices. Isaacson selected each artist to produce work that falls into a category they currently explore in their practice. Although her work does not mirror any of the selected artists, they lit a fire in Isaacson to engage with clay, a material whose memory to touch complemented her woodblock printing.
Seven artists, including Isaacson, are featured in the exhibition — Carlyle Bradford, Steve Clorfeine, Diana Hall, Joseph Kurhajec, Elizabeth Nields, and Matthew Smith. Each artist brings their own approach and artistic vision to the medium.
Artworks range from the familiar to the fantastical. Plates, platters, and bowls are enlivened by the tactile nature of clay and painterly glazes. They take up residency with ceramic whales, birds, an octopus that slithers around a vessel, a group of small clay heads that float in sand, and delicate floral tableaus that recall the woods, meadows, and swamps of the Catskills.
Somehow, all these objects, whether utilitarian or an oddity, come to life, transforming the gallery into a sacred space for exploration, contemplation, and a truly personal connection with the maker. A jewel box of a show and one not to be missed.
