dish: Annual International Exhibition
to
Medalta in the Historic Clay District 713 Medalta Avenue SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 3K9
Dish, 2017
invitation
‘dish’: Celebrating what ceramics brings to the table
This exhibition showcases over 130 works from 70 artists representing Canada, the United States, Scotland, Singapore, and South Korea. Juried by Julia Galloway who brings to the table her experience as an educator, ceramic artist, and community builder. Along with selected the works for this exhibition, Julia will be selecting our Grand Prize winner—a one-month Medalta residency and accommodation—to be announced at our opening (and on Instagram) Thursday, Nov. 9th from 6-8 pm.
Jurors Statement
What a pleasure reviewing all of the entries for the “DISH” exhibition. The work was wonderfully diverse, a great display of making and surface techniques as well as ideas and concepts. The entries clearly represented and reflected what is happening in contemporary ceramics today.
Ahh….a dish, it is not a cup, or a pitcher or a vase, a dish, large or small, is an object to serve from or contain in a way that is often celebratory! Now of course, we can serve out of a pitcher, or contain in a vase, but we would not say – pass me that dishful of gladiolas! No, a dish is a dish.
In reviewing the applications, I was struck by the surface decoration on the work. For the most part, the ornamentation was narrative in nature, or at least, not abstract or cherishing the phenomenon of glaze melt. This reflects the current trend on our field, with the growing accessibility of underglazes, firing control and dominance of ‘image as communication’ on social media.
There was a great deal of humor and technical mastery in the entries, which was a great pleasure. There were some consistent struggles with quality of images and perhaps fewer entries and more details included would have helped me better understand the work. However, over all I was lifted up by the energy and volume of the entries, and enjoyed the great pleasure of looking at pottery. Thank you for your application!