Playing The Field, was curated by current Resident Artist Joanie Turbek and includes the work of five incredibly gifted artists - Tony Hepburn, Chris Miller, Matt Price, Christian Tedeschi and Linda Sormin. The exhibition focuses on artists who were trained in the ceramics tradition but whose material vocabulary includes mediums beyond clay. Whether wood, works on paper or videos, each artist chooses to express themselves in the material and way that best conveys their intent and ideas.
Turbek states, "Currently the trend in Fine Art has been to break down the traditional distinction between materials in favor of the all encompassing "Mixed Media". Although this trend is generally positive, many people in the art community sense that something is lost when we abandon our material based identities. Personally, I believe that my background in Ceramics fundamentally changed my approach to art and to working in all other materials. This leads me to question whether it is possible to find a definition of "Ceramicist" that encompasses the culture and sensibilities of our field rather than solely our material choice. Although Playing The Field is not an attempt to answer this question definitively, it is an opportunity for the viewer to compare the ceramic and non-ceramic work of these great artists and therefore participate in the search for a contemporary ceramic identity."
