Grapevine~

Artist Ricky Swallow was invited to curate an exhibition on the tradition of ceramics in California because of the palpable debt his own clay slab and assemblage sculptures owe to the mid-century period. The resulting show focuses on the work of five iconic artists who redefined the use of clay in contemporary art from the 1940s to the 1980s. Objects and sculptures by Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Michael Frimkess, John Mason, Ron Nagle and Peter Shire were chosen by Swallow to exemplify the ways in which the medium underwent dramatic changes after World War II. Also included are select works by other artists influential in this dialogue, such as Ken Price and Peter Voulkos. An essay by the internationally recognized Swallow, who has exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the British Museum, explores the movement s continued influence on his own personal practice and those of his contemporaries.Published by David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles