Puerto Rican artists at the group show Figuring Space at The Clay Studio

Roberto Lugo, 2022,Street Shrine 2, Stoneware, 48" x 24" x 24" (Large Bear)

Figuring Space is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ruth Foundation for the Arts. The exhibition will present full-scale, figurative sculptures in clay by the top artists working in clay in the United States. Kelli Morgan, Professor of the Practice, Tufts University, will add her integral knowledge of the historical use of the figure in American art over the last 200 years to deepen The Clay Studio’s usual focus on contemporary ceramic art.

Tip Toland, Jonathan Christensen Caballero, Kyungmin Park, Sergei Isupov, Christina West, George Rodriguez, Cristina Cordova, Chris Rodgers, Roxanne Swentzell, Kensuke Yamada, Roberto Lugo and Victoria Walton

The group of powerful, full-scale representations of human figures will serve as a body of evidence to lay bare the issues that permeate American art and social culture. Each of the artists chosen uses the figure to usurp the painful history of bodies on display in American history. They assert their autonomy and subjectivity by presenting cultural critiques through lenses of their own choosing: race, gender, class, and anti-war ideas. Roberto Lugo, Kensuke Yamada, Cristina Cordova, Chris Rodgers, Sergei Isupov, Christina West, Tip Toland, Jonathan Christensen Caballero, George Rodriguez, Roxanne Swentzell, and Kyungmin Park are among the invited artists.

Cristina Córdova, 2022, Earthenware, earthen pigments from Puerto Rico, casein, lime, oxides,

60" x 18" x 22", Courtesy of Ferrin Contemporary

We are excited to announce that Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library will be collaborating with The Clay Studio through research visits for the Curator, and possible inclusion of historical ceramic figures from their Collection that represent cultural heritage, gender, class, and other social issues. Many thanks to Leslie B. Grigsby, Senior Curator of Ceramics and Glass, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library for her partnership.

Figuring Space is co-curated by Jennifer Zwilling, Curator and Director of Artistic Programs at The Clay Studio, and Dr. Kelli Morgan, Professor of the Practice and Director of Cultural Studies at Tufts University.

When: January 12th 2023 to Sunday April 16th 2023,  The Clay Studio

1425 N. American St Philadelphia, PA 19122