News

Roughneck:  A Juried ClayHouston Exhibition
On View at HCCC January 25 – March 31, 2013

(HOUSTON, TX) December 6, 2012 – Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is pleased to present Roughneck: A Juried ClayHouston Exhibition, featuring a variety of ceramic works by members of the local artist guild, ClayHouston. On view January 25 – March 31, 2013, in the Artist Hall, the show is one of many ceramic exhibits in the area coinciding with the National Council on Education for Ceramic Arts (NCECA) 47^th Annual Conference, taking place in Houston next spring, and the 2013 NCECA Biennial exhibition, also opening January 25 at HCCC.

Demonstrating fortitude of technical skill, Roughneck displays the high concentration of talent in the Southeast Texas area and showcases a range of ceramic processes. Through sculptural installations and functional tableware highlighting complex glazing techniques, each piece demonstrates a level of experimentation that yields surprising and eye-catching compositions and forms.

Selecting from 107 submissions by 38 artists, this year’s juror, former HCCC Curatorial Fellow, Susie J. Silbert, chose 16 works by 15 artists. Silbert stated, “The entries for the ClayHouston exhibition included some great work and exceptionally wonderful surprises—all of which served to making the jurying process for such a small space particularly difficult. In the end, I chose a selection of works that seemed to mutually reinforce a theme of gritty richness that speaks not only to the contemporary moment of ceramic activity in Houston, but also to NCECA’s overall conference theme of Earth/Energy.”

Founded in 2005, ClayHouston is a nonprofit guild for potters and sculptors, teachers and students, and professionals and amateurs who create with clay in the Greater Houston and Southeast Texas area. The organization’s mission is to foster a vital clay community; encourage professional development for its members through programming, exhibition opportunities, workshops, and sales venues; promote and support clay artists and activities; and educate the public about clay arts and local clay artists. ClayHouston is sponsoring and orchestrating the local efforts associated with the NCECA 47^th Annual Conference, Earth/Energy, taking place March 20 – 23, 2013, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.  Nearly 5,000 artists, educators, collectors, businesses, non-profit organizations, schools and enthusiasts are expected to travel to Houston for the events. (Details on the conference and surrounding exhibitions are available at www.nceca.net.)  The 2013 NCECA Biennial exhibition is on view in HCCC’s large gallery January 25 – May 5, 2013.

Susie J. Silbert is an independent curator, writer and design historian based in Brooklyn, New York. Her interest in ceramics, sparked at a young age and developed in undergraduate studies, was honed through several years living at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and through studies at the Bard Graduate Center for Decorative Arts, Design History and Material Culture, where she received her Master’s degree in 2011. A strong supporter of Texas craft, she was the Curatorial Fellow at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft from 2011 to 2012 and a Windgate recipient at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 2008.

Roughneck: A Juried ClayHouston Exhibition Featured Artists

Exhibition Dates
January 25 – March 31, 2013
In the Artist Hall at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main Street

Opening Reception
Friday, January 25, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
The reception will also feature two other exhibition openings, the 2013 NCECA Biennial (large gallery) and Constructing Solitude (small gallery), as well as open studios by HCCC’s current resident artists from 6:00 – 7:00 PM. Beer sponsored by Karbach Brewing Co.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Mary Headrick (mheadrick@crafthouston.org)
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
713.529.4848 x 107