Architecture and ceramics are fundamental cultural forms. Both share a central concern with formal issues such as scale, the relationship between inside and outside, and the containment of space. And both engage the physical together with the philosophical, encompassing both a building or artifact and the ideas it embodies. The kinship between architecture and ceramics draws upon the physical materials they use and the formal and conceptual problems they address. Ultimately, however, what binds them together is their shared connection with human use, and human life—and art.
Exhibition Details
Architecture and Ceramics: A Material for the Ages
- October 31–December 17, 2011
- HGA Gallery
This exhibition used photographs to illuminate the rich and complex relationship between architecture and ceramics from the ancient world to the present. The subjects depicted went as far back as ancient Babylon to suggest the long history of the relationship and the remarkable range of styles and structures that have been created when architecture and ceramics come together. It featured ceramic architecture—actual buildings made of clay and then fired—as well as architectural ceramics, such as ceramic murals and terra cotta ornament.
The exhibition featured works by major architects such as Antoni Gaudí, Louis Sullivan, Raymond Hood, Carlo Scarpa, Oscar Niemeyer, and Renzo Piano, as well as by major artists including Robert Arneson, Nino Caruso, Bill Daley, Nina Hole, Charles Simonds, and Betty Woodman.
Exhibition Images
