MC Visiting Lecturer Barron Hall celebrates recent Clayton Center exhibit with Friday closing reception
Oct. 24, 2023
From the functional to the ornate, ceramic works of art by Visiting Lecturer Barron Hall are on display at the Clayton Center for the Arts through the rest of the week, and the public is invited to take part in a closing reception from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27.
The reception is titled “One form and a bunch of Bowls,” where Hall displays his work repeatedly working one style of clay body “to death,” Hall said.
“This may include changing clay bodies, cutting it up and putting it back together, alternative firing methods, trying different colors together, etc.,” Hall wrote in his artist’s statement, hanging on the wall of the exhibit.
The “One form” referred to in the exhibit title stems from a singular clay form of a half-vase, which Hall uses multiple times in these collected works. From different colors to strange combinations — such as a vase with a red plate through the center, or a vase split down the middle — the collection spans the gamut of Hall’s creative efforts.
Vases are for sale in different colors, clay bodies, and many strange combinations, such as a vase with a red plate through the center or a vase split down the middle.
As visitors travel through the exhibit, they will assuredly notice a wall of bowls for sale.
“Some of these will be [used as bowls], [and] some won’t,” he said, “A few of these, like the bubbly ones — I like the way they look, but they got over-fired. They could be used for a fruit bowl, but not mashed potatoes.”
The wall of bowls is Hall’s attempt at getting 3D art on the wall “in a painterly way.”
“I’ve been a 3D artist for a while, so working on the wall is this art institution thing, but ceramicists don’t get to be on the wall a lot,” He said.
He arranged the bowls on the wall as a large collective piece rather than as individual works, challenging the nature of 3D ceramic art, he said.
Hall’s experimentation with form and style has led to many unique methods, such as the swirls of layered color on his wall of bowls. He played around with the underglaze color and a rib as the bowl spun on the wheel, breaking the color up and making interesting patterns to showcase the natural clay underneath. Depending on the pressure of the rib or a twist of the artist’s wrist, the details change, he said.
Every aspect of the work, — the textures, shapes, and divots — led to better use of the medium, he added. Hall used his thumb to press small grips into his bowls, as a sort of signature on each piece.
Hall has also included one pastel sketch on the wall of both rooms of the exhibit to explain his creative process, including the stages he’s not quite sure about.
“That way, the viewer can feel your process, can feel what you’re going through and how you’re dealing with the subject matter,” he said.
“Treating art as a job does not diminish its significance or beauty, instead it imbues the work with a sense of history, progress, and inevitability,” Hall wrote in his artist’s statement. “I believe in practice, hard work, and a schedule.”
The closing reception will take place in Clayton Center’s Building B on Friday, Oct. 27, the last day it will be on display. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. For more information, visit Hall’s personal website at www.barronart.net or his ceramics business at www.mightymud.com.
