Curatorial Statement
Gallery Reception: Friday, June 7, 2019 from 5-7 pm MT
Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, June 10, 2019 by 10 am MT
…The manner in which I view the world around me and study the history of ceramics contribute to an evolving aesthetic in which I respond to my interests and environment through the pots I make. I find it deeply satisfying to live a life in which there is a reciprocal relationship between what I make and how I observe the world around me.
-Stuart Gair
Currently an Artist in Residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Stuart Gair received a history degree from Ohio University and completed an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was named an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly magazine and Emerging Craftsman by the Ohio Craft Museum. Stuart also completed a Residency at Harvard University.
Stuart examines a wide range of wares that have endured through time with a particular interest in how form follows function, balance, elegance, silhouette, and volume. By examining these forms, he thinks about how objects are displayed and how they can occupy a space in similar ways to those historical objects that he admires. He also strives to lure in the viewer for a closer examination of each piece to examine the subtlety and variation of surface. All of the pieces that Stuart creates are fired to cone 8 in a soda kiln.