Pattie Chalmers, Red Vase with Descending Angels (the inevitability of it) (detail), 2025. Glazed earthenware and unglazed porcelain, 22 x 15 x 15 in. Courtesy of the artist.

The Vessel Revisited: Fundamental Forms in Contemporary Ceramics

March 15, 2025 - August 10, 2025
  • Anne Noland Edwards Gallery
free

About the exhibition

Perhaps more than any other medium, ceramics bear the weight of their utilitarian origins. Ceramics carry an unavoidable connection to ancient history, to the forms of the jar, cup, bowl, pitcher, or urn so central to cooking, storing, and transporting goods from the very beginning of human civilization.

Far removed from that functional context, the ceramic medium remains a vital pursuit for contemporary artists who have transformed the earthen material from the utilitarian to the aesthetic, from use to contemplation. The elevation of the commonplace, along with related questions of value and the very definition of art, are some of the most significant themes of art in the last hundred years. This exhibition will engage these themes across a range of leading artists’ practices in the United States and beyond.

This exhibition features works by Pattie Chalmers, Chotsani Elaine Dean, Azza El Siddique, Molly Hatch, David Hicks, Sin-ying Ho, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Aida Lizalde, Roberto Lugo, Walter McConnell, Jennifer McCurdy, Maxwell Mustardo, Milena Muzquiz, Jolie Ngo, Denise Pelletier, Arlene Shechet, Stephanie H. Shih, and Bari Ziperstein.

Selected works

Sponsors

Special thanks to our generous exhibition sponsors:

Related events

April 24, 2025
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

The Vessel Revisited: Two Perspectives | A Public Conversation

The Vessel Revisited features artists working across the United States and at varying stages of their careers. Join us for an evening conversation program to hear from emerging artists discussing their contributions to the exhibition and sharing insights on what it means to be an artist today, and what it takes to both begin and sustain an art career.

Orange textured stoneware pitcher,
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