Following a formula that has gradually taken form over several decades, Golden’s Foothills Art Center presents a more regimented schedule of annual and biennial exhibitions than any public art space in the Denver metropolitan area.
As might be expected, some offerings are better than others. One of the most consistently engaging is “Colorado Clay 2006,” a biennial showcase of some of the finest ceramicists working across the state.
This year’s installment – one of the best in recent memory – features 118 works by 15 artists, including the husband-and-wife team of Valerie and Jonathan Nicklow of Evergreen. They all live along the Front Range, except for Julie McNair of Telluride.
Michel Conroy, an art professor at Texas State University in San Marcos who recently completed a seven-year stint as exhibitions director for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, selected the 15 participants.
Like previous editions of this show, this one does omit many of the state’s luminaries in the medium, such as Kim Dickey, Mia Fetterman-Mulvey or Martha Russo, who, for whatever reason, choose not to enter. That said, there is still plenty of talent here.
Conroy chose artists working in a commendable diversity of styles and techniques, ranging from the ambitious wall installations of Amy Chavez of Arvada to more traditional vessels by such artists as David Beumée of Lafayette and Jim Klingman of Greeley.
Perhaps best of all, she has included some fresh faces, most notably Christine Owen of Boulder, who just received her master of fine arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder last year.
Owen, who draws inspiration from everyday household objects, is responsible for some of the most memorable pieces in the exhibition. Especially notable are her three giant floor sculptures in the first gallery – all oversized ceramic re-creations of colanders or strainers.
Not only has she mastered the many technical challenges inherent in working on a large scale in clay, but she has also invested these imaginative objects with a compelling sculptural presence and a complementary dash of whimsy.
More thought-provoking and elusive at the same time is “Recollection,” which consists of seven clay re-creations of sinks in different sizes and shapes, each looking worn and stained. They are set side by side into a steel frame.
This unusual piece, which is more than 8 feet in length, is hardly what most viewers would expect to find in a ceramics exhibition, and that is precisely its strength. More than just an oddity, it explores nostalgia and questions the nature of imitation and realism.
Another young standout is Katie Caron of Lafayette (who formerly used the last name Martineau-Caron). She made a splash in the 2004 installment of “Colorado Clay” and is back with even more sophisticated work this time around.
Inspired by the look, shape and textures of micro-organisms and tiny bits of organic matter such as pollen and seed pods, Caron sculpts knobby, barbed and ridged ceramic pieces in an array of vaguely biomorphic forms.
Highlights include “Pollinium,” a title derived from the botanical term referring to a mass of pollen grains. And that’s exactly what it depicts – a group of spiky, earth-toned balls clustered around a metal pipe jutting at an angle from a circular base.
Propellers are the driving motif in the work of Chavez, who was featured in “Pivotal Experience,” a solo exhibition last year at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities.
Especially strong is a conceptual wall installation titled “Familial Propulsion.” It consists of a series of impeccable ceramic re-creations of propellers in an array of sizes – each adorned with babies, umbilical cords and other images suggesting birth.
Other highlights in this exhibition include the fantastical, figurative works of Caroline Douglas of Boulder, and the bulbous, vaguely anthropomorphic vessels of Paul F. Morris of Fort Collins, with their exaggerated colors and textured surfaces.
Also represented are Bebe Alexander, Lakewood; Joyce Bickel, Englewood; Peggy Crago, Englewood; Carla Kappa, Boulder; Kazu Oba, Lafayette; and MaryLynn Schumacher, Boulder.
“Colorado Clay 2006”
THROUGH MAY 7|Exhibition featuring clay works by 15 Colorado artists|Foothills Art Center, 809 15th St., Golden|$3|$2 seniors and free for students and members|10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays (303-279- 3922 or foothillsartcenter.org)
