Installation Show of Tetkowski’s Earth Fragments
The sculptures of Neil Tetkowski are a visualization of bundles of energy, some just about to burst. The stark white environment that the body of work Earth Fragments is displayed in, enhances the rough earth quality of these sculptural objects. Each sculpture is made from a cut up thrown disc. The disc form brings with it historical, contemporary, and utilitarian references. The disc is sliced up and then reassembled into a form that seems to release the inner workings of a timeless form. Early Cycladic III–Middle Cycladic I Date: ca. 2300–2200 B.C. Culture: Cycladic Medium: Terracotta During the late Neolothic the iron and copper rich Cyclades Islands were bustling with the creativity. From about 3200 BC to 2300 BC the Cycladic culture existed contributing many skilled stone, metal, and clay makers, who made well-crafted objects. The Cycladic art and its makers were well respected and revered by their contemporaries. To this day Cycladic art seems rather modern and still maintains a sense of fresh design. The occupants of the Cyclades Islands were constantly exposed to other customs, cultures, and advances in technology of the times because of their location on trade routes. It is thought that this exposure added depth to their objects and paved way for a more maturely designed object. A fine example of this is the Kernos Vase for Multiple Offerings an object probably used for flowers and food offerings to a deity. The form is composed of twenty five consistently sized small vessels in concentric rings set atop a pedestal foot. The piece is reminiscent of a contemporary tabletop centerpiece or candle holder.
Arrentine ware was made by the Romans and first produced near Arrezo, Italy just before the first century BC. This ware was mass produced and used for everyday purposes. An original form was created and then a plaster mold was taken from it. This mold was used for slip casting enabling efficient production. Arrentine ware has a very reflective surface finish and was made to look like glass. The iconography on the exterior registers matched those that would have been on silver plated objects of the time.
Gils is a dedicated potter who makes porcelain teapots, pairing a complicated form with a complication material. The reductive process of wheel throwing and experimentation has yielded Gil’s extensive body of work. The teapots each have great character and seem to personify their maker.
Bucchero pottery is an evolution of impasto pottery. Impasto pottery, a product of the Iron Age, was a dull gray-brown ware formed from a rough groggy clay body. Bucchero pottery replaced impasto pottery at the end of the 7th century BC. Bucchero ware was more attractive to customers than impasto ware because of the distinctive shiny black surface and wheel thrown form that Bucchero ware boasts. Bucchero forms were simply more sophisticated in appearance and process and soon became very prized possessions by consumers of the 7th to 5th centuries BC. Bucchero ware is pottery pretending to be metal ware. Not unlike today, metals such as gold and silver were considered very precious in Etruria. So, if one could not afford the real deal, why not purchase a look alike? The types of decoration more commonly found on metalwork were applied to Bucchero ware in an effort to make the pottery appear more convincing of metal materials. Some of these more common metal-working techniques or characteristics that were applied to the surface of Bucchero ware were ridged surfaces and curved over rims. The sharp lines in the form and in the surface of Bucchero pottery were also characteristic of beaten bronze. In early Bucchero pottery, engraved reliefs that were geometric or figurative in form were used for decorating the vessels. In the later forms of Bucchero pottery, heavy added or rolled reliefs were added. All these decorative styles were reminiscent of metalwork, whether it is Bucchero Sottile or Bucchero Pasante. In some cases Bucchero ware was covered in fine silver leaf to give an even more convincing appearance of true metalwork. There are only a few examples left of Bucchero pottery in the form of a vases, which have been covered with a thin layer of gold or silver leaf. This coating was meant to give the exterior a metalic appearance making them more precious. Bucchero ware was derived from Greek forms with a slight Etruscan twist being incorporated. Most Bucchero is some sort of utilitarian tableware such as drinking vessels, serving dishes for eating, or storage vessels. This was the beauty of Bucchero ware; it was made to be used.
Deep Bowl with Sculptural Rim Late Middle Jomon Period (ca.2500-1500 B.C.) Japan Earthenware: H 13 in. The Neolithic Jomon culture of Japan led a sedentary life style from the fifth millennium to BCE to about the third millennium AD. As a culture who found sustenance through fishing, hunting, and gathering, the Jomon incorporated pottery into their lives as solution for everyday cooking and storage needs. The Jomon hand built their pottery from the bottom up with coils and no aid of a wheel. These objects are known for their herringbone surface decorations, created by pressing knotted rope that was twisted in opposite directions into the clay surface. This is also where the name Jomon is derived, meaning cord making. On what are presumed to be ritualistic forms the Jomon formed undulating and elaborate rims. This work is well thought out and visually sophisticated. The Jomon were making beautiful objects that not only met their utilitarian and ritualistic needs but were also beautiful objects. The Jomon utilitarian forms such as the Deep Vessel illustrate creative solutions for creating a functional form with the same stylistic qualities of a Jomon sculptural/ritualistic object. These are some of the same goals that I strive to meet in my work and it is fascinating to me that the Jomon makers from thousands of years ago were meeting some of the same basic needs and stipulations that the makers of today are.
Ceramics Art and Perception Issue 92, 2013 Neil Tetkowski Earth Fragments- Article by Adam Welch11/17/2014 The sculptures of Neil Tetkowski are a visualization of bundles of energy, some just about to burst. The stark white environment that the body of work Earth Fragments is displayed in, enhances the rough earth quality of these sculptural objects. Each sculpture is made from a cut up thrown disc. The disc form brings with it historical, contemporary, and utilitarian references. The disc is sliced up and then reassembled into a form that seems to release the inner workings of a timeless form.
A group shot of Tineke van Gils’s Teapots
Tineke van Gils is a dedicated potter who makes porcelain teapots, pairing a complicated form with a complicated material. The reductive process of wheel throwing and experimentation has yielded Gil’s extensive body of work. When displayed together the teapots are related by form and material only. Each of her teapots is unique and has individual character. Perhaps each teapot is a personification or maybe Gils views each one as a child that she is sending out into the world. Arelene Shechet- A Kiln Inside Out
Arlene Shechet’s sculptures in the show living in the Present, immediately reference mass, the absence of it and hollowness. Not only do the clay forms reference being hallow but they are built with hallow forming methods. Shechet considers the entire object to be sculpture, including methods of display such as a pedestal. All construction materials are carefully chosen and chosen for very specific reasons. Each sculpture seems to be built with the formula base plus and object on top. Even though the ceramic sculpture may personify, look like, or seem to reference other things, they are non-objective. The glazed surfaces are the result of extensive glaze material research and testing. She doesn’t just fire to a cone but to very specific degrees. The process of making is reflected within the work. Arlene Shechet’s sculptures in the show living in the Present, immediately reference mass, the absence of it and hollowness. Not only do the clay forms reference being hallow but they are built with hallow forming methods. Shechet considers the entire object to be sculpture, including methods of display such as a pedestal. All construction materials are carefully chosen and chosen for very specific reasons. Each sculpture seems to be built with the formula base plus and object on top. Even though the ceramic sculpture may personify, look like, or seem to reference other things, they are non-objective. The glazed surfaces are the result of extensive glaze material research and testing. She doesn’t just fire to a cone but to very specific degrees. The process of making is reflected within the work.
Arretine cup signed by Tigranes, ca. 25 B.C.–10 A.D.; Augustan Roman Terracotta; H. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm) Arrentine ware was made by the Romans and first produced near Arrezo, Italy just before the first century BC. This ware was mass produced and used for everyday purposes. An original form was created and then a plaster mold was taken from it. This mold was used for slip casting enabling efficient production. Arrentine ware has a very reflective surface finish and was made to look like glass. The iconography on the exterior registers matched those that would have been on silver plated objects of the time.
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