Alistair Blair

Dōgen’s Bridge

2024

From ancient times, the materiality of clay has presented itself as a metaphor for human self-transformation. In recent decades, visual artists have leveraged this metaphor to explore the boundaries of visual art through creative experimentation. This has led to the development of innovative techniques and styles that push the limits of materiality and artistic expression. ‘Compressing Materiality’ brings to the fore notable artists exploring the mutable materiality of clay within the contemporary South African context. Existing in multiple temporalities and forms, both malleable and fragile, clay draws on various transformational agents to reflect culture and history—serving as a repository of collective memory and heritage. Its enduring materiality transcends temporal and spatial boundaries, fostering dialogue and understanding across diverse cultural landscapes. In the hands of an artist, clay transcends its inert state, undergoing metamorphosis through the alchemy of skill, imagination, and fire. By demanding physical engagement—a communion between hand and material—the artwork is imbued with an innate vitality. Clay moulds, sculpts, and shapes, yielding to the artist's will, yet simultaneously asserting its own agency. Featured as part of this group showcase, Antoinette Du Plessis...

Orly Rabinowitz’s second solo exhibition with EBONY/CURATED unveils the artist’s latest body of work and weaves a richly textured narrative on her conn...

Sara Fine-Wilson's “Swarming Bulge" is a gestural 22 x 7 x 6 inch ceramic sculpture in cream and warm gray. It is hand built and wheel constructed in white stoneware. Individual hand formed details are layered over the entire surface creating a graceful and fluid form. The surface is coated in a warm cream matte glaze that becomes darker gray and glossy along the edges that have been caught during the soda firing process. The glaze emphasizes the contrast between surfaces and edges. Fine Wilson’s ceramic work contains elements of both raw and refined surfaces including cracks, ruptures and pooling of glaze. Sara Fine-Wilson is a contemporary sculptor based in the Boston area...

Hand-pitched chrome metallic glazed ceramic sculpture vessel by Jessamyn Go. Jessamyn Go's work is deeply rooted in the visceral, meditative experience of working with clay. Drawn t...