Exhibition | Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition

Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition, is the first major museum exhibition for the noted contemporary ceramicist. Organized by The San Diego Museum of Art, ( San Diego November 1, 2014 to February 17, 2015 ) this show includes works from the 1960s to the present, many of which are being shown publicly for the first time, according to the museum.

Above image: Ron Nagle, Balky Caucaus, 2014, mixed media, 5 x 4.75 x 2.75 inches

Nagle is an internationally acclaimed ceramicist and sculptor. He is influenced and inspired by pioneers from the Otis Clay movement such as Peter Voulkos and Ken Price, Also known for his career as a singer/songwriter, Nagle’s work was among the highlights of The New Museum’s artistic director Massimiliano Gioni’s exhibition at the 2013 Venice Biennale which was reviewed in CFile. Nagle is represented by the Pierre Marie Giraud gallery in Brussels.

Crated by Ariel Plotek, Associate Curator of Modern Art, Nagle’s ceramic works are displayed in long cases alongside a selection of preparatory sketches. Featuring notable works such as Lobster Boy and Car Bomb, the exhibition showcases 19 ceramic sculptures and 11 drawings. The show’s title Peripheral Cognition derives from “peripheral points of departure,” or the stream of conscious state of mind that comes while creating.

With attention to detail of an architect and the irreverence of a graffiti artist, Nagle has been forming small objects, mostly out of clay, for the past 50 years. Small in size, they are big on beauty. Initially referencing ceramic vessels, his work has evolved to forms that are less referential to pottery yet still maintain certain ceramic elements. His quintessentially Californian aesthetic is funky yet unfailingly sophisticated. Each form Nagle shapes acquires multiple meanings, wrapped in a riddle of puns and allusions often referenced in their titles.

“Ron Nagle was inventing Post-Modernism years before it became fashionable. He was part of the California revolution in American pottery that took place in the 1960s,” says Roxana Velásquez, Maruja Baldwin Executive Director at The San Diego Museum of Art. “We’re honored to host the artist’s first major solo museum exhibition. With the addition of Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition, we’re able to further showcase the Museum’s interest in contemporary art.”

You can read an interview with Nagle in this week’s issue. Click here to read another interview between Nagle and Sterling Ruby.

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