20th Anniversary
Clay on the Wall Invitational Exhibition
Landmark Gallery (January 26 – February 24, 2013)
About Clay on the Wall
The concept of staging a “Clay on the Wall” exhibition came about in 1993 while I was teaching at Eastern Washington University in Cheney Washington. I was asked by the gallery director to develop and plan a show with national exposure. After thinking through several possibilities for this exhibition I came to the simple conclusion that most exhibitors of 3-D work tend to present on pedestals. The concept of placing the ceramic work on the wall emerged because I wanted to see how other artists could respond using the wall as a means to present their artistic visions and personal voice regarding the various complex variables of the human condition while using art as a universal language. I too had been challenging myself to create work devoid of pedestals and therefore used the wall as a means for presenting ceramic artworks. Coming up with the title “Clay on the Wall” was somewhat simple as the title suggests the method of exhibition.
This was the premise for the first “Clay on the wall” exhibition, which was conducted as an invitational. Artists were invited to submit 10 – 20 slides from which the juror would select the best choices. Both the inaugural exhibition in 1993 and the following exhibition in 1996 were presented in this manner and I served as juror for the first two invitational exhibitions. Succeeding exhibitions were conducted as competitive national calls for entries. I have co-juried subsequent exhibitions, once with my Texas Tech University colleague Sara Waters in 1997 and later, in 2005, with Kansas State University Art Historian, Dr. Glen Brown. I have also called upon internationally renowned artist, critic author and former editor of Ceramics Monthly as well as internationally renowned Seattle based art critic, Mathew Kangas in 2007 and in 2010 Elaine O. Henry, an internationally renowned artist and editor of Ceramics Art and Perception, was also tapped to serve as juror.
The invitationals and the following juried exhibitions have included artists such as Marek Cecula, Tom Bartel, Harris Deller, Barbara Frey, Susan Goldstein, Shin-Yeon Jeon, Leah Hardy, Steve Hilton, Anna Calluori Holcombe, Hsin-Yi Huang, Tim Guthrie, Gary Molitar, Greg Roberts, Debora Sigel as well as many, many other emerging artists who at the time were using the wall to present their works.
I can honestly say I am amazed it has been 20 years since the first “Clay on the Wall” exhibition. Twenty years
later there is no doubt that the exhibition project has been well received and has served as a tremendous venue for many tremendously talented artists to share their personal artistic visions. The exhibition has also served as a valuable teaching asset and thus inspiring countless exhibition enthusiasts. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary Clay on the Wall Invitational Exhibition, I invited Dr. Glen Brown from Kansas State University to serve as co-curator. We invited an exceptional group of artists to embody the spirit of “Clay on the Wall.” The invited group of artists were not given scale and weight limitations for their artistic creations. Therefore many of the artists’ complex, multi-part installation artworks are quite impressive. Both Glen and I challenged the artists to expand their visions beyond previous parameters of past exhibitions – we believe these exceptionally talented artists most certainly met and exceeded our expectations.
Additionally, through the initiative of Texas Tech graduate student Adam Redd, participation at Texas Tech by
two guest artists from Kansas State University, Dylan Beck and Amy Santoferraro, has been made possible with additional support from Landmark Arts.
I want to Acknowledge previously received generous support which has made “Clay on the Wall” such a tremendous success. Past “Clay on the Wall” exhibitions have received generous grants from the Helen Jones Foundation of Lubbock and additional support from the Ryla T. & John F. Lott Endowment for Excellence in the Visual Arts has facilitated the presentation of important symposia for the students and visiting artists.
I want to thank Joe Arredondo, Director of Landmark Arts, Anthony Saia, Assistant Director, for his exquisite installation and Robert Terrell for his nuanced lighting of the exhibition. I want to thank Dean Carol Edwards, Director Tina Fuentes, my colleagues within the School of Art, Von Venhuizen, my colleague in the ceramics area program, and our ceramics graduate students, Charles Dreis, El-yesha Puplampu, Adam Redd and Zach Tate, for all their support – it has been all greatly appreciated. I certainly want to express my gratitude to Ms. Cari Caldwell for an exceptional catalog design. Last, but not least – thanks to Glen for his immensely generous and professional help and enthusiasm throughout the process in developing this exhibition. I also extend a very warm thank you to the artists who contributed their artistic creations in making this exhibition.
Juan Granados | Associate Professor of Ceramics, Texas Tech University | Founding Director of “Clay on the Wall”