Laura Ross / Studio Clay
at Craft(s) Gallery
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| Ceramic Bowl, Laura Ross, 2013. |
Reviewed by Keith Waits
Entire contents are copyright © 2013, Keith Waits. All
rights reserved.
In her artist’s statement, Laura Ross speaks
of “functionality in relation to one’s daily rituals.” The work in this show
perfectly embodies this idea with vessels and forms that are matched in
practicality by powerful suggestions of history and spirituality.
These ceramic pieces are mostly simple,
elemental forms of such solid footing that they often express a monolithic
quality reminiscent of naturally formed monuments. Weighty and grounded, at
least in visual terms, there is a durable physicality that indicates that each
bowl, dish or pitcher could stand up to generations of use.
The utilitarian nature of the work pushes
greater sophistication away from form and into the surface details of color,
texture and the occasional sculpted addition (lid handles that are birds). Ross’s
palette here seems dominated by deep blue and green tones. But there are groups
of softer hues and some especially rich earth tones of ore, umber and sienna
that form the foundation for interesting organic patterns and incidents to
emerge from within the soda-fired surface. Ross has, in a few instances,
enforced a more aggressive, manipulated texture on one or two vessels. But the
rich and delicate beauty that results from what Ross calls “the mystery of the
accidental” in the firing process provides an effective contrast between
surface and form.
The approach allows enough crudity, if you
will, to emphasize the connection to the clay beneath our feet and the origin
of the material. The reinforcement of the elemental raises practicality to a
deeper significance that such vessels have always had in the formal social and religious
customs of our past as well as the mundane use in our daily lives. The act of
breaking bread together has, over time, lost much of its meaning in human
existence so that we tend to take for granted the most common and universal
ritual, supplanting it with over-processed foods manufactured and consumed for
pace and efficiency. The notion of nourishing body and soul in tandem has
become largely neglected in the modern world.
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| Tiny Teapot, Laura Ross, 2013. |
Such notions might seem a bit pretentious;
yet the presence of such pieces as two water stones – forms that, again,
balance scale and visual weight – with a very small and delicately placed pool
of water with a live green plant seems to reinforce a spiritual element to the body
of work. And the careful placement of one series, “Black/White Opposition,” in
which 12 black and 12 white cups sit in close formation on two narrow shelves
placed alongside each other on the wall, consciously blurs the line of
“potter’s pots” (to borrow the artist’s phrase) and objet d’art. Clearly Ms.
Ross’s point is that there need not be any such distinction; and after spending
time with the body of work in this exhibit, I would be hard-pressed to
disagree.
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| Latte Cup, Laura Ross, 2013. |
The somber, no-frills aspect of much of the
work is given meaningful contrast in a handful of humorous elements, such as a
“Sitting Frog Jar” that is highlighted by the titular amphibian, a creature of
marked expressiveness serving as the handle; or a “Slab Server” that, with its
curled edges and strips of color modulation, is cleverly fashioned to resemble
the bacon it is designed to present at table.
This exhibit is an auspicious inaugural for
Craft(s), one of several new galleries that have opened recently in Louisville.
Part fine art exhibition space and part craft boutique, the open and inviting
space is located in the “SoFo” district, the area of Fourth Street just south of
Fourth Street Live.
Laura Ross / Studio Clay
June 28 – August 31, 2013
Craft(s) Gallery
572 South Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
572 South Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 550-2035
CraftsLouisville.com
CraftsLouisville.com
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