De Saisset Re-Molds Perceptions of Clay
By Katherine Chow
When you walk into the de Saisset Museum a concaved piece of art occupies the center of the main room. Behind its silhouette, sky blue ceramic tiles line the top of the wall framing the words "Clay in the Bay," mirroring the tiles used in the sculpture itself.
Clay is the main medium used in the exhibit, set to debut on Jan. 24. Twelve artists in the Bay Area, two of whom are Santa Clara professors, will be showcasing their interpretation of clay in 3-D form.
"We do a lot of exhibitions of two-dimensional work," said de Saisset Museum Curator Lindsey Kouvaris. "So when we were thinking of the arc of our exhibition schedule, we actually wanted to step outside of that and do something three dimensional, a sculpture exhibition."
In addition, Kouvaris said the de Saisset has a dual focus on art and history, which worked perfectly with the historical background clay has in the Bay Area.
Clay has been historically regarded in terms of functionality. Kouvaris explained that early ceramics only detailed vases, cups, plates and bowls. Starting in the late 1950s and 1960s, artists in the Bay Area challenged tradition and built off of decades of functional ceramics.
"None of the works that are on display fit into that traditional idea of functional ceramics, plates and cups and things like that," Kouvaris said. Some of the artists, however, are "building on those traditions, but they are not intended for you to set your table with or to use in that kind of traditional fashion."
Spanish professor Francisco "Pancho" Jiménez's piece incorporates traditional themes, yet also introduces new ways of sculpting clay and creating a more modern form of ceramics. Inspired by Aztec and Maya art, the carved surfaces of Jiménez's piece, which vary in depth, are the very facets that make his piece more modern than the traditional clay pot.
Jiménez spent only a few weeks on the overlying tasks like framing the negative space, carving the final patterns, and deciding what color to glaze his masterpiece. Jiménez eventually decided the color that most accentuated his carvings, which were intuitively engraved, was red.
A peek into Jiménez's contribution only begins to describe the entirety of the exhibit and the many underlying themes it represents. While there is no universal message conveyed, the similar aesthetic and the foundational use of clay bring together a bit of history and a bit of art in the Bay Area.