Kilnopening.edu 2014: California Ceramic Academia April 12, 2014 – June 1, 2014

Pomona, CA, March 26, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The American Museum of Ceramic Art presents Kilnopening.edu 2014, a biennial exhibition featuring ceramic work from California college/university professors and students throughout California. The exhibit focuses on the influence of the professor and idealism of the student, together creating the next era of ceramic fine art. The exhibition also acts as a fundraiser to support both the artists and AMOCA’s ceramic educational programs. Everything in the exhibit is for sale.

This year’s show also highlights Featured Artist Tanya Batura, a USC and CSUN Adjunct Professor. Tanya’s work draws the viewer in with alluring and sensual craftsmanship while revealing psychologically jarring ceramic figures. Tanya explains, “These figures are derived from abstracted close-ups and headshots of plastic surgery, pornography, burn trauma, facial prosthesis, and dental procedures. Removing these images from their original context allows accentuation of these qualities, causing the resulting work to vacillate between the poles of pleasure and pain, the sublime and grotesque.” As a contemporary artist and professor who pushes conceptual boundaries, Tanya is able to lead and inspire students by example.

Previously, the biennial only consisted of work from academia based in Southern California, but this year AMOCA has extended its invitation to Northern California submissions as well, in an effort to show an increased diversity in style and concept. This exhibition celebrates academia as a new frontier of technique, experimentation, and craft.

Also on Display: During this exhibition, there will be three other exhibits available to view; Palm Prints: Jamie Bardsley, Emerging Artists: High School Exhibition, and Big Fish Small Pot: Sixth International Small Teapot Competition.

About AMOCA: AMOCA champions the art, history, creation, and technology of ceramics through exhibitions, collections, outreach and studio programming. Founded in 2001 and opened in September 2004, AMOCA is one of the few museums in the United States devoted exclusively to ceramic art and historic innovations in ceramic technology.

American Museum of Ceramic Art
Open Wednesday – Sunday, 12pm – 5pm
Admission Prices: General $7, Student/Senior $5, Members & under 12 Free
For more information or a tour of the exhibition,
please contact Whitney Hanlon at 909.865.3146 or whanlon@amoca.org
(909) 865-3146 · Fax (909) 629-1067 www.amoca.org

Exhibition Programing:

Grand Opening & Reception –
Kilnopening.edu 2014: California Ceramic Academia,
Palm Prints: Jamie Bardsley (in the Vault)
Big Fish Small Pot: Sixth International Small Teapot Competition
Saturday, April 12, 2014, 6pm-9pm

Second Saturday Lecture Series
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Speaker: Tanya Batura – Featured Artist in Kilnopening.edu
7:00PM

Family Day at AMOCA – Saturday, May 24, 2014 (1-4PM)
Join them for this free day of tours, hands-on activities for kids, and demonstrations for families of all ages.
Tribute to Betty Davenport Ford: Animal Wall Hangings

Also on View:

Palm Prints: Jamie Bardsley
April 12- June 1, 2014
Jamie Bardsley creates small folds of clay with palm prints and assembles them into a large scale installation. "Sitting on the floor crossed legged for hours at a time, I would pound out little pieces of clay and then fold them into the palm of my hand. These folds are made from various porcelain clay bodies, each with a slightly different hue. The memory of the clay reveals the lines from my hand and records the making of each intimate piece,” says Jaimie Bardsley. The folds have become a driving force for Jamie Bardsley and play an integral part in his creations.

Big Fish Small Pot: Sixth International Small Teapot Competition
April 12- June 1, 2014
Organized by Tony Huntley, Professor of Biology and Marine Science at Saddleback College, Big Fish Small Pot features teapots selected by juror, Guangzhen Po Zhou, who is a ceramic artist, writer, curator, a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.
AMOCA only serves as the host venue for the exhibition.

Emerging Artists: High School Exhibition
April 12- June 1, 2014
In this second annual exhibition, AMOCA invited over 400 high schools in Southern California to participate. High Schools from San Diego to Santa Barbara have sent ceramic pieces by their star students to be exhibited in a museum show. Emerging Artists gives high school students a rare opportunity to interact with college level artists and professors in an effort to inspire further careers in ceramics.