Containing Content

 

                 Matt Sloan

 

I attended an exhibition in the Witt Gallery on the Sacramento State Campus Tuesday April 20. The exhibition showed the work of Matt Sloan who is an artist which works in hand built ceramics. I have actually seen his work before, but it seems like with his further exploration of form, his pieces seem to become more developed.

 

                            Ceramic Bowls

 

                    Close up of Ceramic Bowls

 

                                 Bowl detail

 

              Ceramic Pot

 

The exhibit in the Witt Gallery showcased a diverse assortment of his work pieces. The pieces ranged from cups, to bowls, slabs, and pots. Looking at his work I can see that his process deals with an exploration in form. It is evident in his pots that a specific decision was made to show seams to break up the surface of the pot. I noticed that a lot in his work, that Matt works with different ways of approaching the surface of his pieces through, the build up of form, the texture, and the glaze he decides to use on each piece.

 

                             Ceramic Cups

 

                       Ceramic Vessels/Jars

 

 

I was lucky enough to visit the exhibit while the artist was there and he discussed that history informs his work. He tries to, "take something you've seen before and make it your own." I like that he said that because in m background with hand- built ceramics, there is a reference to historical vessels and other art pieces when we create our own ceramic pieces. He also mentioned that he primarily uses clear glazes in his work and tries to make something happen.

 

                Scott Parody Ceramic Professor

 

 

 

           Kyle student looking at ceramic slabs

 

Scott Parody, a former ceramic teacher I have had, was also present during my walkthrough of the exhibit. His class was present to come look at Matt's work.  What I noticed throughout the pieces I viewed was his attention to detail in the surfaces of the ceramic pieces. For example in the image above, he etched designs into the slabs before they were fired. That process along with using slip in order to prevent a glossy finish allows the viewer to see how the surface interacts with the etching. A glossy finish would have over powered the work in my opinion. I think the artists decisions in whether to create a glossy surface on the ceramic pieces or keep the surface clearer brings his work together to create an interesting display on the possibilities of what one can create with clay. each step of the process is essential to the finish piece that one comes up with and the experience of working with clay is evident in his work.

 

 

                       Student viewing the work

 

 

        Matt Sloan and his pot

 

What was interesting was seeing how other students reacted with the work. At times students are not able to interact with the art displayed in the gallery. With this ceramic exhibit students were able to get close to the work, touch it, and feel the medium in their hands. It's something more to appreciate when a ceramic piece is in your hand. After it has been fired and glazed and you get to feel the weight of the object and the texture run along your fingertips. I also like to do that because it allows a closer view to the form of each individual piece. The exploration aspect of the exhibit was interesting to see as shown above, one student got close enough to touch the pots and I could carefully see him exploring the texture of the surface. I, as well as the student above, was drawn in by the precision of the artist hand in his work to bring his ceramic pieces to a great ceramic series.