The response to the call for entries was strong, with 568 works offered for consideration by 326 artists. The jurors, Magdalene Odundo and Ryan LaBar, have selected 40 pieces for the exhibition; 30 graduate students, eight undergraduates and two post-baccalaureates.
The jurors will choose cash and gift certificate awards for artistic excellence. Awards will include but may not be limited to the NCECA NSJE Undergraduate and Graduate Student Awards (three each), the Retired Professors NSJE Award, Studio Potter Awards, the KBH Merit Award. This portion of the jurying process will take place at the gallery after the work has been installed.
The awards will be announced at the reception on Thursday, March 26, 2015 will be held at the Sol Koffler Gallery at the Rhode Island School of Design, an amazing facility that will showcase the excellent quality of student work being created. http://nceca.net/nceca-calls-and-exhibitions/2015-national-student-juried-exhibition/
About the Jurors:
Ryan LaBar grew up in Great Falls Montana. He received a degree in Biology and Art from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. In 1999, he moved to Helena, Montana and set up a studio. He has worked as a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation, the LH Project, California State University Long Beach, and Caldera. Additionally LaBar has worked internationally in residencies in China, Bali, and Poland and has spent time at the Kohler Factory in Wisconsin and Meissen Manufaktur in Germany. LaBar received his MFA at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and was a subject of Nebraska Television’s “Nebraska Story”. Currently, he is the program director of the LH Project, a prestigious residency program in Joseph, Oregon.
Primarily a vessel maker, Magdalene Odundo was born in Africa, educated in England, and has work in museums, galleries, and private collections across the world. Odundo has had dozens of solo shows and participated in countless group exhibitions. She brings an internationally renowned, time-tempered aesthetic that reaches far beyond traditional pottery. Odundo has been appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honour's List for Services to the Arts, as well as Patron & Trustee by the English National Society for Education of Art & Design. She continues to make and show work, teach, and participate in residencies and workshops. She works and lives in Surrey, England.
Brent Pafford's Artist's Statement:
At the intersection between generations things are lost. Items lose their potency in daily life, and rarely are objects created, manufactured, or bought with intentions to spend a quality amount of time with them, care for them, and pass them along to younger generations. The work I create is a reaction to this reality. Contemporary society is consumed with disposability, and people are no longer connected to the objects that aid in their sustenance. Making contemporary heirlooms that are formed with touch, labor, and time counterpoints this disposability: the objects I create patiently wait to be discovered and enjoyed, retained and later passed on to others.
For more information on Brent Pafford and his work, go to: http://www.brentpafford.com/.
