Lecture | Garth Clark: Speaks about a New Art World, at MECA, Maine College of Art, Portland on October 28

The talk, Ceramics + Art, Rebooted, is a continuation of the spirited debate Clark began recently in Copenhagen and Oslo about the forceful entry of the medium into the fine arts world. Dozens of exhibitions featuring ceramics and clay are taking place each month and a new canon of leading artists is being chosen and established partly from the ceramics world and partly from non-specialist fine arts including Arlene Shechet, Johan Creten, Sterling Ruby, Theaster Gates, Ai Weiwei, Nick Cave, Adrian Villar Rojas, Ron Nagle and others. As Clark explains, “the role of deciding which ceramics is now indeed art has been totally lost to the fine arts. The question is, are they doing a better job than we did? And the answer is often (but not always) yes. It’s an exciting new era.”

Arlene Shechet

The lecture is part of Maine College of Art’s Visiting Artist and Guest Lecturer Series that invites professional artists, educators, curators, thought leaders, and creative entrepreneurs to present on topics of interest and importance to the MECA community.

Ron Nagle

The Visiting Artist Committee proposes artists and lecturers, augments the MECA curriculum, and establishes a balanced visiting artist program that strives to represent all disciplines and media at Maine College of Art.