Flemington DIY will host “lessISmore,” an exhibit that showcases art that is born out of the few, the lesser, the bare necessities, opening at noon Saturday, March 2, and running through the month.
Rather than relying on a false abundance of multitudes of materials, agents and devices, these artists focus on reduction, simplicity, back to the basics, the non-processed, and untamed.
Curated by artist Simon Keller, the group show features a variety of works by Eric Spencer, Benjamin Vogler, Grace LaForge, and Reiko Kita, with guest artist Frank May, as well as the Cone9 CoLab, consisting of Simon Keller, Bob Diken, and John Marron.
“I work with clay, preferably wild clay, proto clay and other remarkable objects I find in nature,” says Keller. “The less tamed the clay, the more earth-honest is its materiality. Sculpting, painting, dancing, or turning the raw clay on the kick-wheel, intense heat in the kiln will turn it into stoneware. ‘Let the clay do the work’ was the attitude I learned in Japan.”
The month-long exhibit of ceramics, sculptures, paintings, mixed media, and performance art will also include hands-on workshops and performances: March 2 and 16, 2-4 p.m., The Art of Tea ($10); March 8, 6-8 p.m., Gravity – a mix of art history, demonstration and performance with Frank May; and March 9, 2-5 p.m., Zeitseelen (spirits of time) – Ceramic Sculpture Workshop ($20).
“What resides within all of our minds and imagination is often more tangible than reality,” says Reiko Kita. “I aspire to share my imagination through creating my artwork.”
Grace LaForge offers this insight into her work: “To me, to make something that wasn’t there before is always life affirming. Using clay is so basic – it’s under our feet yet look what humankind has done with it! I always try to let the clay literally shine through the surface, even as I become more involved with glazes and techniques. My current challenge is to create 99 drinking cups to be given away to people who never owned a vessel that was made by hand.”
“The form of my sculptures often resembles a wave, but rather than depicting the ocean, my aim is to create a sense of flow,” Ben Vogler says of his work. “Using a limited number of simple materials, like the semi-transparent ash glaze, keeps the main focus on the shape of the sculpture.”
Live demonstrations, artist hours, interactive performances and talks on wabi sabi, Sumi-e calligraphy, assemblage, and clay dancing are all slated to happen throughout the month.
Flemington DIY is located at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington, N.J. For information, visit flemingtondiy.org/lessISmore.
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