ST. LOUIS, Mo. — New York artist Peter Pincus works in colored porcelain as a way to create “three dimensional paintings” out of pots. How can these visitors between the second and third dimensions enhance one another? How can the form of a vessel aid the painter and vice versa?
Pincus exhibited at an invitational with seven other artists whose work approached similar questions. CeramATTACK at the Duane Reed Gallery (St. Louis, Mo. (December 18, 2015 — February 13, 2016) sought to display artists whose work had “motivations beyond pure form and function.”
“…the selected artists take ceramics into an entirely new realm, fusing contemporary aesthetics with a traditional art form. The clay bodies act more as canvases for further creative exploration through a multidisciplinary approach. This new take is evident in the works of Kevin Snipes whose structures are complimented by his whimsical street art influenced figurative drawings, or Jonathan Mess who reclaims discarded and forgotten materials into formations that reference maps and natural geographical formations.
“Challenging the traditional and established view of ceramics, CeramATTACK offers a collection of works that allow the viewer to explore both narrative and form in a myriad of imaginative and unconventional approaches that both provoke and inspire.”
Peter Pincus, Enclosed Vase Form #2, 2015, porcelain and gold luster, 22 x 8 x 8 inches. Courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery.
Peter Pincus, Enclosed Vase Form #6, 2015, porcelain and gold luster, 22 x 8 x 8 inches. Courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery.
We recommend seeing more of the work on Duane Reed’s website, but we want to showcase how Pincus’ forms exemplified the prompt of the exhibition. As with Léopold Foulem, Pincus is evaluating and reevaluating the assumptions central to how we view contemporary ceramic art, finding new ways to surprise us and expand the medium.
Born in Rochester, NY, Peter Pincus is a ceramic artist and instructor, according to his biography. He joined the School for American Crafts as Visiting Assistant Professor in Ceramics in Fall 2014. Peter received his BFA (2005) and MFA (2011) in ceramics from Alfred University, and in between was a resident artist at the Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, California. Since graduate school, Peter worked as the Studio Manager and Resident Artist Coordinator of the Genesee Center for Arts and Education in Rochester, NY, Adjunct Professor of three dimensional studies at Roberts Wesleyan College and has established a studio in Penfield NY.
Do you love or loathe these works of contemporary ceramic art? Let us know in the comments.
Peter Pincus, Enclosed Vase Form #3, 2015, porcelain and gold luster, 22 x 8 x 8 inches. Courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery.
Peter Pincus, Enclosed Vase Form #1, 2015, colored porcelain and gold luster, 22 x 8 x 8 inches. Courtesy of Duane Reed Gallery.
Click to see a larger image.
Peter Pincus, The View from Here, 2015, ceramic, 18 x 45 x 12 inches. Courtesy of Ferrin Contemporary. Click to see a larger image.
Peter Pincus, Vessels, 2016, ceramic, 21 x 30 x 8 inches. Courtesy of Ferrin Contemporary. Click to see a larger image.
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