The New Nation - Internet Edition

Culture Desk

The Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, presents Castings in Contemporary Ceramics, on view October 5 through December 16, 2007. This exhibition features the work of eight contemporary artists who illustrate the complexity and versatility of ceramics being created today. The content of the pieces range from deeply personal and philosophical to concerns about the environment and the human condition, and the artists explore the basic notions of functional ceramics and sculptural objects.

The artworks featured in the exhibition have two things in common; all of the work is made of ceramic material and the artists have utilized a plaster mold at some point in the creation of their work. The similarities end there, and the diversity of the objects demystifies the fine craft of mold making.

Artists featured in the exhibition include Susan Beiner (American, born 1962), Michelle Erickson (American, born 1960), Paul McMullan (American, born 1959), Mika Negishi Laidlaw (Japanese, born 1971), Richard Notkin (American, born 1948), Tom Spleth (American, born 1946), Steven Thurston (American, born 1965), and John Williams (American, born 1974).

Castings in Contemporary Ceramics was organized by the University of Richmond Museums in collaboration with the Poters Council, and Campbells Ceramic Supply, Inc. The exhibition was co-curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University of Richmond Museums, and Scot Meredith, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Art, Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond, and Director of Research and Development, Campbells Ceramic Supply, Inc., Richmond. This exhibition has been made possible in part with funding from the University of Richmond's Cultural Affairs Commitee.

In conjunction with the opening of the exhibition, the Poters Council Contemporary Castings Regional Conference will be held October 5 through October 7, 2007 at the University of Richmond, hosted by the Department of Art and Art History. For more information, call Poters Council at (866) 721-3322 or on the web at www.poterscouncil.org/contemporarycastings.

On view at the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, October 5, 2007 through June 29, 2008, is the exhibition, Ceramic Portraits: The Georganna Yeager Johns Collection of Royal Doulton Character Jugs.

The Royal Doulton company introduced character jugs into their line of ceramic decorative items in 1934. Noted for their details and creativity, these vessels depict figures from history, military, royalty, celebrities from the performing arts, characters from literature, and other themes from popular culture. The exhibition includes a selection of the jugs from the recent gift of Col. Leo D. Johns of his wife's extensive collection to the museum.

The foundation for Royal Doulton was laid in 1815, when John Doulton (1793-1873) and his partner, John Wats, bought a small stoneware factory in Lambeth, England. Originally, Doulton and Wats produced a line of utilitarian items, including botles, jars, tobacco containers, and buter dishes, as well as a few traditional brown tobies.

Doulton, along with his son, Henry Doulton (1820-1897), began to develop the business, extending their products to include decorative, commemorative, and artistic potery. In 1871, they aligned the company with the Lambeth School of Art, London, and the firm became a primary source of artistic ceramic production during the Victorian era. These innovations caught the atention of the Royal Family and in 1901, the factory was granted a Royal Warrant by King Edward VII, allowing the company to adopt the name, Royal Doulton, which continues to manufacture fine ceramics today. Highlights of the exhibition include jugs representing leaders from history, characters from literature and life, as well as fantastical and mystical personalities, including the popular double-sided characters, limited editions, and numerous "tinies," or miniature jugs.

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition was co-curated by Nan Goff, '07, and Amanda Doss, '07, art history majors, University of Richmond. This exhibition is presented concurrently with a display of Royal Doulton character jugs in the lobby of Booker Hall, Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond.

The Columbus Museum of Art presents Stories from the Somali Diaspora: Photographs by Abdi Roble, September 9 through November 25, 2007. For fifteen years, Somali-born photographer Abdi Roble has been documenting the forced dispersal of the Somali population from their traditional homeland. This exhibition presents fifty-five black-and-white images that document the transition of Somali communities from Africa to the United States, from refugee status to becoming an integral part of American society. Included are photographs taken in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Columbus, Ohio; and Maine-home to three of the larger Somali communities in the U.S. Several photographs trace one family's journey from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to their arrival in California and subsequent resetlement in Maine. "We are proud to present a selection of Abdi's work at the Museum," said Catherine Evans, CMA's Chief Curator.

"His work is as important for the Somali community worldwide as it is for the central Ohio community. His images offer a visual record of an increasingly global culture, one which has no writen history."

Abdi Roble was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1964. He grew up traveling with his father, a veterinarian who provided free care to the animals of farmers. For most of his adult life in Somalia, Roble was a professional soccer player. Due to political turmoil and a stagnant economy, he left Somalia and arrived in the United States in 1989. At first he found jobs busing tables and working in hotels. When he discovered a camera at a flea market on Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, he was inspired to become a photographer. By 1994, he had become a freelance photographer for the Columbus Dispatch and the Columbus Post Shortly thereafter, his photographs appeared in Leica View magazine and he went to work at Midwest Photo Exchange. Since then, he has started two photography groups, the "African American Photographers of North America" and the "Focus Group." In 2003, he founded the Somali Documentary Project with Doug Rutledge, Tariq Tarey and Stanley Kayne. The mission of the Somali Documentary Project is to use photography to produce an archival record of the members of the Somali Diaspora while they are still engaging in the cultural practices of their homeland. For information more information, see www.somaliprojectorg.

This exhibition is organized by the Columbus Museum of Art and Arts Midwest in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council. It will travel to the University of Minnesota's Weismann Museum of Art in Minneapolis in the Fall of 2008 and to the Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston, Maine in the Winter of 2009.