September, 2022
On View August 26 - December 10
This exhibition of contemporary process-based sculpture and installation concentrates on abstraction as an extension of the artist's physical actions. By bringing together abstraction, which is frequently considered elitist and incomprehensible, with craft, which is often viewed as popular but lacking intellectual depth, EX-tend EX-cess makes challenging work accessible. It also offers dialog around issues of equity in terms of materials and culture.
Curated by J. Susan Isaacs, TU, and Sagi Refael, independent curator.
This exhibition of contemporary abstraction through the medium of clay explores the grasping of transformation through “Action Clay-ing”—additions, growth, combinations, excess, exits and entrances, and endings and beginnings—
as extensions of the artists’ bodily gestures and conceptual ideas. The possibility of transformation suggests exiting a space and entering another, exiting the world of functional ceramics, and entering the world of abstraction. The artists in this show are generally diverse: male, female, and non-binary, and of various cultural backgrounds. The exhibition offers dialog around issues of equity in terms of materials and culture. It encourages viewers to think beyond traditional structures, offering the opportunity for personal growth, echoing the theme of the works themselves. These are established artists of national reputation from across the United States including Maryland. The project comprises a catalog, workshops, lectures, and rich web presence.
Artists: Ebitenyefa Baralaye (Detroit); Cassils (LA and NYC); Roxanne Jackson (Brooklyn, NYC); Sara Parent-Ramos (Maryland); Zemer Peled (Maryland); Rotem Reshef (New York); Martha Rieger (New York); Brie Ruais (New York); Anthony Sonnenberg (Arkansas); Gabriela Vainsencher (New Jersey); Michael Ware (Wisconsin); Matt Wedel (Ohio); and Shiyuan Xu (Chicago). Co-Curated by Sagi Refael and J. Susan Isaacs, This exhibition and related programming are being co-sponsored by Baltimore Hebrew Institute. Supported in part by The National Endowment for the Arts.
Towson University, Center for the Arts
8000 Yard Road
Towson, MD 21252
