Current Exhibitions

Rory Shamlian: Gathered Matter

As a designer, I draw inspiration from both past design eras and the organic forms found in nature, aiming to create work that is both engaging and functional. My practice prioritizes form and shape over adornment, allowing the materials themselves to become the focal point. With this body of work, I move into a more introspective territory—one that contemplates the complexities of human connection and disconnection. This work reflects the dynamics of relationships while exploring my own relationship with clay—the moments of closeness, the gradual pull of distance. These pieces give form to the ebb and flow of connection, while questioning what it means to be present and how we navigate these internal and external forces.

Working in ceramics as a designer has often put me at odds with embracing unpredictability. The natural instinct is to correct or adjust when things do not go as planned. However, with this work, I seek to release these limitations and lean into the unknown. Forms emerge in an organic way, with the process guiding the work, rather than the other way around.

In this exploration, light takes on a role beyond mere functionality—it becomes a means of expression. Light represents hope, while darkness offers the depth necessary to understand the whole. The shadow becomes essential for defining form. This work also engages with the tension between light and dark, reflecting a cultural obsession with brightness and positivity. Texture plays a central role in this dialogue: raw, rough surfaces contrast with moments of softness and translucency, inviting both emotional and tactile responses from the viewer.

Influenced by the emotional depth of Rembrandt’s work and the atmospheric landscapes of George Inness, I explore the interplay of light and shadow, structure and dissolution. This body of work departs from the precision of high-end ceramic lighting, instead inviting touch, movement, and reflection. Each piece shifts with light and shadow, encouraging the viewer to engage with its changing forms and, in turn, reflect on their own internal experiences.

This work is an exploration of the pieces we gather when we move through connection and sorting through what to carry forward and what to leave behind.

“Gathered Matter” will be on view April 5-26

Christopher St. John: aMERICAN aNIMALS

This exhibition of earthenware sculptures reflects on the anxiety and contradictions that define this American moment. Like many, I am grappling with the dramatic shifts unfolding in this country, using art as a medium to examine these tensions in my own particular way – within my understanding of human beings as animal bodies, capable of liberty, and with access to the materiality of ceramics, a medium that embodies both fragility and endurance.

“aMERICAN aNIMALS” will be on view

April 5-26