Current Exhibition
Full of Appetite: lisa orr and gwendolyn yoppolo
August 17 - September 21, 2019
Saratoga Clay Arts Center’s Schacht Gallery presents Don’t Get Lost, a solo exhibition featuring the abstract organic sculpture and functional works of SCAC 2018-19 Artist-in-Resident Candice Klipfel. The exhibition opens Saturday, July 20 with a reception Saratoga Clay Arts Center’s Schacht Gallery presents Full of Appetite a duo exhibition featuring the utilitarian pottery of Texas artist Lisa Orr and Pennsylvania artist gwendolyn yoppolo. The exhibition opens Saturday, August 17th with a reception from 5-7pm and runs through September 21, 2019.
Parallel intent brings together two distinctive bodies of work for this exhibition of functional pots. While exhibited on pedestals and walls in the gallery, these works are meant to be used, and therefore complete only when they arrive home to the dinner table or to tea. In short, they are “best presented with a freshly prepared meal.” The two artists approach the same challenge of utility from very different aesthetics. One is glossy and bright, spontaneously loose, and loaded with historical reference and representational images, and the other is satin matte, and full of pastel hues, soft curves and subtle transitions. Together, though, they are a match made in heaven. Lisa Orr’s juicy jewel tones bring out the more subtle colors of gwendolyn yoppolo’s luscious pots. While gwen’s pots seem to be one color at first glance, the surfaces have warm undertones of red, brown, grey, and yellow. And while Lisa Orr’s mix of many colors seems at first spontaneous or chaotic, each piece has incredible balance, making the overall experience of her work soft and fluid. Each artist makes work that begs to be touched, used and cherished on a daily basis.
More about the artists:
Lisa Orr’s artworks for the table often refer to traditional porcelain or restaurant whitewares, but with softer forms inspired by the playful and abundant qualities of Mexican earthenware. She invented her own production process after studying clay mold fragments in antiquated factories and museums. After forming pieces in molds, on the wheel, or both, she finishes with stamps, slips, sprigs and multihued glazes. Though Lisa Orr’s colors can evoke a healthy garden in bloom, it is the strength of her form that sets her work apart: it feels muscular and strong while showing fluidity. In this way she plays both ends of the spectrum, from the dynamic and substantive to the detailed and dreamy--full of surprise. For 38 years Lisa Orr has been professional potter and student of ceramics. She completed an MFA at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1992 and later received grants including a Fulbright and a MAAA/NEA. Her work is in numerous public and private collections including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, and the permanent collection of WOCEF in Korea. Currently she teaches, lectures and shows nationally and internationally.
gwendolyn yoppolo uses words, ceramic objects, and food to stretch boundaries and transform perception. She creates sensuous kitchen- and table-wares that use the physical experience of hunger and satiation to allude to larger issues of human desire and relationship. Her visionary designs challenge us to rethink the ways we nourish ourselves and others within contemporary food culture. She earned an MFA in Ceramics from Penn State University, an MA in Education from Columbia University, and a BA in Sociology from Haverford College. A passionate educator and thinker as well as a maker, she is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Kutztown University. Her writing can be found in Studio Potter, Pottery Making Illustrated, and Passion and Pedagogy.
All of the work in this exhibition is available in our online SHOP through September 21.
Current & Upcoming Exhibitions
The Schacht Gallery features the breadth and depth of contemporary ceramics by local, regional, national and international clay artists. Gallery hours are 11am - 4pm daily and by appointment.
