Celebrating California Clay

Beginning in the 1950s artists in California, and particularly Southern California, transformed the world of contemporary ceramics; the permanent collection of the Mobile Museum of Art contains representative pieces by some those pioneers: Rudy Autio, Viola Frey, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos and Beatrice Wood. The summer exhibition Celebrating California Clay updates our collection by presenting an inaugural showing of 20 pieces by a new generation of California clay artists recently given to the Museum. Under the auspices of The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Ojai, California, its Director, Kevin Wallace, and with the contribution of the individual artists the collection now contains works by: Julie Hunter Bagish, Patrick Shia Crabb, Angeia de Mott, Stephen L. Horn, Laura Langley, Ricky Maldonado, Tom McMillin, J. Musi, Kevin A. Myers, Kevin Nguyen, Porntip Sangvanich, Cate Shelley, Charles Sherman, Carol Sils, Linda Smith, Vincent Suez, Cheryl Ann Thomas, Kathy Waggoner, Nina deCreeft Ward and Fred Yokel. Always experimental in some way, Celebrating California Clay reveals that the continued contemporary exploration of the expressive potential of clay is alive and well.