NEW YORK––Daniel Bare’s sculptures on exhibition in Fused at Jane Hartsook Gallery at Greenwich House Pottery (February 23 – March 23, 2018) are a critique on the wastefulness of American consumerism. The assemblage sculptures often seem on the brink of collapse, which in turn amplifies the constrained uniformity of mass produced goods.
Daniel Bare, Tea Cloud (1), 2018, Post-consumer found ceramic object, porcelain, glaze, 6 x 5.5 x 6 inches
Daniel Bare, Tea Cloud (grouping)
He begins amassing his sculptures by collecting unwanted pottery from thrift stores, landfills and abandoned kiln sites, he then actually assembles them in stacks inside a saggar container, often securing precarious forms with nichrome wire. Over top, he drips casting slip and glazes, squirting or “glopping” glazes by hand, spatula or glaze bulb––a tool similar to a turkey baster. This added glaze and the liquid clay work in tandem with the original glaze on the collected pottery to fuse it into a final amalgamation.
Daniel Bare, Red Cup Platter (Pod I), 2016, Post-consumer found ceramic objects, porcelain, glaze, 20 x 19 x 7 inches
The found objects add an element of the unknown since Bare is not always sure what temperature they can withstand, which sometimes leads to his sculptures collapsing unexpectedly during firing. The saggar container protects the inside of his kiln from being ruined by clay or glaze that can melt unpredictably.
Daniel Bare, Step, 2018, Post-consumer found ceramic objects, porcelain, sand, glaze, 18 x 18 x 12 inches
detail
Pushing his materials to this precarious brink, Bare hopes they do shift or slump in the heat of the kiln, but without fully collapsing. The resulting fusion of individual objects imbues an unsettling sense that each of these sculptures will continue to grow and absorb more material, eventually overtaking everything in their path.
Daniel Bare, String Theory (4), 2018, Post-consumer found ceramic object, porcelain, glaze, 7 x 7 x 6.5 inches
About the artist: Bare is a full-time Lecturer in the Art Department at Clemson University. He has called the Upstate of South Carolina home since 2010. Born and raised in Lancaster, PA, he earned his MFA in Ceramic Art from Alfred University (Alfred, NY) and BFA in Crafts/Ceramics from the University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA). His practice in clay and professional experience includes international and national artist residencies at acclaimed programs in China, Japan, Canada and the United States. His ceramic work is featured in Glaze: The Ultimate Collection of Ceramic Glazes and How They Were Made (2014), as well as 500 Ceramic Sculptures (2009), 500 Teapots Part I & II (2002; 2013). He exhibits and presents public lectures about his work at Beijing Fine Art Academy in China, the Michigan Ceramic Art Association, the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conferences and many universities and art centers in the US and abroad.
Daniel Bare, Cumulus, 2018, Post-consumer found ceramic object, porcelain, glaze, Ni/Cr wire, stoneware, 49 x 22.5 x 17 inches
Daniel Bare, Medicine Hat Platter, 2016, Post-consumer found objects, Medalta souvenir cowboy hat ashtrays, porcelain, glaze, 22 x 22 x 9 inches
exhibition view
Text (edited) from gallery.
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