“ceramic interventions: nicki green, sahar khoury, & maria paz” at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Nicki Green, The Porous Sea (Tank), 2019. Glazed earthenware. 51” x 38” x 29” Photo by Ashley Estabrook

Spring 2021 exhibition
di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art
Napa, CA
exhibition link

The Bay Area has a longstanding tradition of radical experimentation in ceramic arts and, in recent years, many of the region’s most exciting young artists have chosen clay as their medium. This exhibition highlights three emerging artists working in this space, exploring a range of contemporary interventions in ceramic tradition.

Nicki Green, Sahar Khoury and Maria Paz all speak about the respect they have for ceramic’s durability, elasticity and strength, and are deeply engaged with the legacy of Bay Area ceramics. However, their practices represent unique modes of ceramic intervention. Green uses clay to create objects that explore history, ritual and the aesthetics of otherness. Khoury, meanwhile, engages in a practice of “creative repair” to create sculptures and installations that incorporate clay with cement, metal, textile and papier-mâché as well as rejected or found materials. Paz, finally, archives her personal and family history on ceramic vessels as an act of resilience and resistance.

Highlighting a wide range of recent works, Ceramic Interventions shows that clay remains an exciting and vital medium for today’s emerging artists.