Juan Barroso Solo Exhibition

Juan Barroso’s work is about the plight, struggle, hope, and heritage of Mexican immigrants to the United States. His pots are slip cast from original designs with colored porcelain. Barroso’s imagery is hand painted with underglazes or carved in low relief. All works are fired to cone 6 in oxidation.

Barroso earned his M.F.A. from the University of North Texas in 2020 before his three year residency at Companion Gallery. This is Barroso’s first solo exhibition since completing his tenure at CG. All works were created in his home studio in Princeton, TX where he continues his studio practice.

Available online Friday, November 1st at 12:00pm CST.

Anika Major Feature
We are so excited to share this collection by Anika Major. All of these works were made here in our studio during Anika's residency in August. It was a joy to watch these pots take shape and color while sharing time with Anika. In her own words: "I’m excited to share all of the work I made during my two-week residency at Companion Gallery! I spent my time during the residency working with new clay bodies, and firing oxidation and cone 6 soda kilns. On day one, I jumped right in and had a fun flow of making, decorating, and firing, with time for collaborations toward the end. During this time, I was able to refine my underglaze techniques thanks to @amacobrent applied on a new-to-me clay body, @lagunaclay Speckled Buff. I’ve been chasing a toastier clay body with soda firing, and using this new tan clay has added an extra warmth that I’m still buzzing about – in both the soda and electric kilns. The tan clay really makes the colors pop, and fits comfortably alongside my usual white clay body of work. I’m so grateful to also have had this time to try out ideas that have been cooking for a while, including continuing my experimentation with soda firing. Over the two weeks, we fired the soda kiln twice, and it was great to try out different approaches after seeing the results from the first round. I’ve returned to my studio with a newfound confidence in firing gas kilns, and a stronger love of soda firing. As I look back on all of the pieces I created, I’m excited to have new lines of work to continue exploring, and grateful for the space and opportunity to flesh these ideas out. I was in such good company with all the folks at Companion Gallery and East Mitchell Clay. Exchanging stories, sharing meals, and all the laughter each day made it such a perfect experience. They were really the best part of my time there. I think the pots turned out pretty good, and I’m only a little sad I couldn’t stuff them all in my suitcase. ;-) "

Hurricane Relief Fundraising Exhibition
Last week we reached out to the artists we represent in an effort to come together and raise some much needed support for our neighbors to the east. While the devastation from this storm is almost unfathomable, we are heartened to see the incredible outpouring of support for these affected communities.

70+ potters have generously and collectively donated over 100 ceramic works for this purpose. The exhibition is now live online and available for purchase. 100% of the funds raised from this collection will be donated to Craft Emergency Relief Fund @cerfplus to aid craft artists in the affected areas.

Thank you for your continued support!

Participating Artists: Grant Akiyama, Sarah Alsaied, Jen Allen, Alejandra Almuelle, Ian Bassett, Eric Beavers, Casey Beck, Ashley Bevington, Eric Botbyl, Evie Botbyl, Jessica Brandl, Kaitlyn Brennan, Cory Brown, Ray Brown, Laurie Caffery, Dawn Candy, Ben Carter, Pattie Chalmers, Ian Childers, Bede Clarke, Naomi Clement, Gabs Conway, Jillian Cooper, Carole Epp, Michelle Ettrick, Marty Fielding, Steph Galli, Andrea Garcia, Forrest Sincoff Gard, Mike Gesiakowski, Candace Gooch-Ward, Delvin Goode, Chris Gray, Martha Grover, Kyle Guymon, Casey Hanrahan, Maxwell Henderson, Chris Hosbach, Samantha Hostert, Haylie Jimenez, Shikha Joshi, Tim Kowalczyk, Jessie Kristy, YoonJee Kwak, Stacy Larson, Kyle Scott Lee, Dick Lehman, Keok B Lim, Anika Major, Maureen Marcotte, Will McComb, Adam Meistrell, Taylor Mezo, Forrest Lesch-Middelton, Samantha Momeyer, Richard Munster, José Flores Nava, NOM Ceramics (Rebeca & Scott Proctor), Erika Novak, KyoungHwa Oh, Doug Peltzman, Tyler Quintin, Taylor Robenalt, Justin Rothshank, Masa Sasaki, Josh Scott, Chanakarn (Punch) Semachai, Amy Smith, Malcolm Mobutu Smith, Chad Steve, Zach Tate, Alex Thomure, James Tingey, C.A. Traen, Sami Tsang, Lars Voltz, Taylor Whyte, Rebecca Zweibel

Material Mugs IX
Participating Artists: Ashley Akerson, Grant Akiyama, Marissa Y Alexander, Sarah Alsaied, Chris Alveshere, Ian Bassett, Jamie Bates, Eric Beavers, Casey Beck, Milo Berezin, Susan Bergman, Ashley Bevington, Andy Bissonnette, Bekah Bliss, Eric Botbyl, Evie Botbyl, Annie Boyer, Yael Braha, Jessica Brandl, Nathan Bray, Matias Braun, Kaitlyn Brennan, Cory Brown, Ray Brown, Wes Brown, Laurie Caffery, Dawn Candy, Ben Carter, Laura Casas, Heidi McKay Casto, Pattie Chalmers, Adam Chau, Brian Chen, Ian Childers, Marissa Childers, Mike Cinelli, Andrew Clark, Bede Clarke, Naomi Clement, Blair Clemo, Gabs Conway, Jillian Cooper, Kyla Culbertson, Lyndee Deal, Dehmie Dehmlow, Audra Doughty, Brenton Duhan, Ben Eberle, Carole Epp, Michelle Ettrick, Tanya Everard, Lauren Faust, Yoshi Fujii, Steph Galli, Andrea Garcia, Forrest Sincoff Gard, Mike Gesiakowski, Candace Gooch-Ward, Delvin Goode, Chris Gray, Kyle Guymon, John R Hamilton III, Casey Hanrahan, Kenyon Hansen, Maxwell Henderson, Alisa (Al) Holen, Samantha Hostert, Shikha Joshi, Kirsty Kash, Kristen Kieffer, Tim Kowalczyk, David Kenton Kring, Jessie Kristy, YoonJee Kwak, Bri Larson, Stacy Larson, Robert LaWarre III, Kyle Scott Lee, Keok B Lim, Renee LoPresti, Anika Major, Liz Mazurek, Will McComb, Adam Meistrell, Taylor A Mezo, Catie Miller, Samantha Momeyer, Richard Munster, Melissa Mytty, José Flores Nava, CJ Niehaus, Marcè Nixon-Washington, Erika Novak, KyoungHwa Oh, Joe Page, Doug Peltzman, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Stephen Phillips, Zoë Pinnell, Ashlyn Pope, Rebeca & Scott Proctor (NOM Ceramics), Justin Paik Reese, Taylor Robenalt, Justin Rothshank, Dwayne Nii-Teiko Sackey, Rosa Salas, Brian Sarama, Masa Sasaki, Ali Schorman, Josh Scott, Chanakarn (Punch) Semachai, Hitomi Shibata, Takuro Shibata, Taylor Sijan, Carly Slade, Malcolm Mobutu Smith, Mitchell Spain, Shawn S. Spangler, Mike Stumbras, David Swenson, Olivia Tani, Zach Tate, Alex Thomure, James Tingey, C.A. Traen, Sami Tsang, Nala C. Turner, Taylor Whyte, Ife Williams, Travis Winters, Julie Woodrow, Dexter Woods, Rebecca Zweibel
Available Online Saturday September 7, 2024

Margarita Invitational. Curated by Brett Kern. Participating Artists: Jen Allen, Chris Alveshere, Eric Beavers, Casey Beck, Ashley Bevington, Jessica Brandl, Ray Brown, Celia Feldberg, Andrea Garcia, Casey Hanrahan, Tim Kowalczyk, Stacy Larson, Taylor Mezo, José Flores Nava, Stephen Phillips, Tyler Quintin, Be Rose, Chad Steve, Chance Taylor

Mike Cinelli Solo Exhibition
Mike Cinelli is a ceramic artist, father and occasional husband residing in Taylor, Mississippi. Born and raised in Ormond Beach, Florida; he first attended the University of Florida where his initial serious interest in clay began. After relocating to Mississippi, he received his BFA (ceramics) from the University of Mississippi in 2014. The following year, he filled a one year position as the Ceramic Studio Technician for the University of Mississippi. His work has been displayed nationally and internationally in numerous juried and
invitational exhibitions, with work displayed as far away as Skopelos, Greece, where he attended a one month residency at the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts. He has received various jury awards, including the Studio Potter Merit Award. He was featured in the August 2016 issue of Ceramics Monthly as a contributor to “From Idea to Finished Form”. In March of 2019, his work was featured on the cover of Pottery Making Illustrated. Currently, he is attempting to juggle his studio practice, being a father and husband, and maintaining a rigorous schedule of complaining on the internet.

Nom Ceramics Solo Exhibition
Nom Ceramics is the collaborative practice of Scott Proctor and Rebeca Milton. They are based in Austin, Texas where they run a community pottery studio, East Side Pot Shop, in the heart of East Austin. After working side by side for two years, they decided to join forces and created Nom Ceramics in 2019. They are always inspiring and motivating each other to keep pushing the limits of clay, through experimental building, glazing, and firing techniques. They fire most of their work in their cone 10 soda kiln or their gas reduction kiln. Nom Ceramics is a mixture of functional and sculptural ceramic work that holds roots in traditional ceramic values, while maintaining ongoing explorations of contemporary techniques.

Raw Clay II
Participating artists: Grant Akiyama, Alejandra Almuelle, Eric Botbyl, Wes Brown, Shikha Joshi, YoonJee Kwak, Samantha Momeyer, Richard Munster, Josh Scott, Megan Thomas, Lars Voltz

Marty Fielding Feature
Marty Fielding became captivated by clay as an anthropology major at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He continued his study of ceramics as a teaching assistant at Penland School of Crafts. Fielding worked for decade as a studio potter prior to earning an M.F.A. from the University of Florida. Fielding’s work has been included in invitational and juried exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally such as Strictly Functional and The Zanesville Prize. Marty Fielding teaches at Florida State University. His teaching experience includes SUNY New Paltz, Middlebury College and the University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy as well as community studios including Frog Hollow in Middlebury, Vermont where he was Resident Potter. He has taught workshops including Penland, UMass Dartmouth, and Truro Center for the Arts on Cape Cod. His work and writing are published in numerous books and periodicals including the recently published Creative Pottery by Deb Schwartzkopf, Low Fire Soda by Justin Rothshank, and Fielding’s article, Contextualizing Ceramic Color in Ceramics Monthly.

2024 Spring Exhibition: Marissa Y Alexander, Juan Barroso, Eric Beavers, Eric Botbyl, Evie Botbyl, Ray Brown, Mike Cinelli, Michelle Ettrick, Candace Gooch-Ward, Tim Kowalczyk, Samantha Momeyer, Chanakarn Semachai, Amy Smith, Zach Tate, Sami Tsang

Last Call IX: Handmade Ceramics for Pouring, Storing, and Sipping Fine Libations
Ashley Akerson, Louie Albertson, Marissa Y Alexander, Sara Alfieri, Chris Alveshere, June Ambro, Etty Anderson, Sarah Anderson, Jon Anvil, Jessica Archibeque, Garrett Augustyn, Juan Barroso, Juanita Barrow, Eric Beavers, Casey Beck, Matt Becker, Marla Benton, Ashley Bevington, Andy Bissonnette, Erica Bleu, Tony Borchardt, Evie Botbyl, Lakyn Bowman, Annie Boyer, Yael Braha, Kaila Braley, Jessica Brandl, Ray Brown, Danny Bruckbauer, Asta Bubliene, Benjamin Buchenot, Austin Burns, Jill Campbell, Scott Chatenever, Ian Childers, Marissa Childers, Mike Cinelli, Andrew Clark, Gabs Conway, Jillian Cooper, Trevor Dunn, Lori Elling, Jesus Fernandez, Andrea Garcia, Julann Gebbie, Sarah German, Beth Gonzales, Candace Gooch-Ward, Delvin Goode, Kristin Gruenberger, Kyle Guymon, John Randolph Hamilton III, Eunkyung Han, Casey Hanrahan, Stephen Heywood, Jennifer Hill, Carley Holzem, Alec Hoogland, Samantha Hostert, Tom Hubbard, Isabelle Huot, Logan Iverson, Shikha Joshi, Denise Joyal, Chris Kamykowski, Kirsty Kash, Jamie Kelly, Tim Kowalczyk, YoonJee Kwak, Kara Kyle, Stephen Lally, Stacy Larson, Kyle Scott Lee, Natalie Liu, Chris Long, Coleton Lunt, Anika Major, Anne Maraviglia, Caitlyn Marsh, Liz Mazurek, Will McComb, Dane Meier, Adam Meistrell, Samantha Momeyer, Sarah Mundy, José Flores Nava, Samuel Newman, NOM Ceramics, KyoungHwa Oh, Alex Olson, Luke Ott, Carter Pasma, Stephen Phillips, Emoke Pulay, Tyler Quintin, John Reinking, Christina Riccio, Mark Rossier, David Rummel, Jocelyn Russell, Dwayne Nii-Teiko Sackey, Rebecca Schedl, Amy Schnitzer, Margaret Seidenberg-Ellis, Chanakarn (Punch) Semachai, Michael Simmons, Steve Sitrin, Carly Slade, Michelle Smith, Wesley Smith, Amy Song, Shawn Spangler, Andrew Tarrant, Zach Tate, David Taylor, Sami Tsang, Rita Vali, Luke Verkamp, John Vorstadt, Taylor Whyte, Bryan Wilkerson, Ron Wilson, Meghan Yarnell, Becky Zee, Caleb Zouhary

Figuratively Speaking III
Sami Tsang, Haylie Jimenez, Mallory Wetherell, Chanakarn Semachai, Jamie Bates, Anika Major, Juan Barroso, Marissa Y Alexander, Michelle Ettrick, Adam Chau, Nala C. Turner, Andrea Garcia, Carole Epp, Jessica Brandl, Travis Winters, Taylor Robenalt, and Keok B Lim.

Carly Slade & Tim Kowalczyk offer USPS themed ceramics as well as collaborative works.

Samantha Momeyer Solo Exhibition

Contemporary Pattern II
Chris Hosbach, KyoungHwa Oh, Kyle Scott Lee, Taylor A. Mezo,
Horacio Casillas, Erika Novak, Yoshi Fujii, Brooke Sharpe Millecchia,
Maureen Marcotte, Sara Ballek, & Forrest Lesch-Middelton.

Marissa Y Alexander Solo Exhibition
Sami Tsang Solo Exhibition
Ray Brown Solo Exhibition
Chanakarn Semachai Solo Exhibition

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Artist Insights

A Conversation with Horacio Casillas

CG: What can you tell us about your early years that informs your work today? 

HC: I was raised in Mexico and raised Catholic. Growing up in a country where 95% of the population is Catholic, it’s not only a personal faith journey but a communal one. I grew up surrounded by beautiful churches on almost every block but the memories I have aren’t just about the church buildings, but the events associated with those churches. In La Parroquia de San Jose, my grandpa along with my dad and his brothers would help with the procession of the Eucharist on the feast of Corpus Christi, the whole neighborhood would gather to sing songs and pray as we walked around the block. In El Santuario del Señor we celebrate in April the feast of El Señor de la Misericordia, hundreds of people make a 76 km pilgrimage by foot to this church and thousands more come from all over to celebrate the feast in various ways. Essentially the whole town turns into one big party that lasts several days. The influence the Catholic church has had on me hasn’t just been a spiritual one but a cultural one, and those experiences drive my work. 

CG: How did you get into ceramics? Could you articulate what it is about clay that drew you in?

HC: I didn’t have a declared major when I first entered college so for a couple of years, I just took basics and random classes that seemed interesting including art classes. I got into ceramics because it was just the next class on the list, but it was pretty much love at first touch. I hadn’t encountered a material that was as versatile as clay, a material that could bend to my will. Of course, it often felt like clay wanted to bend to its own will but the challenge to conceive what was in my mind’s eye was attractive along with its use for functional pottery. 

CG: You are currently pursuing two (seemingly different) bodies of work. What insights can you give us into both of these series? 

HC: The first series was the work I developed in graduate school after I was told my work was too generic (which I agreed with). After throwing so many different variations of forms and altering them and pulling hundreds of handles, at some point during the evolution I felt proud of what I was making. And even though evolution never stops I’m happy to continue making this series that I now think of as my corporal body of work. This work is typically wood or soda fired and references the body and the beauty of imperfection. 

My current series is a spiritual body of work which references the soul or spirit. This work is more visibly religious, and although I consider my corpus series to also be spiritual, it is not as obvious. I’ll talk a little more about my spiritus series in the next question.

CG: In a previous conversation you described the impact of watching Notre Dame burn. How did that loss impact your current work?

HC: My goal has always been to glorify God with the work I make. While I do appreciate subtlety, I wanted to represent my faith more than just conceptually.  I couldn’t help but remember a comment from my undergrad sculpture professor “religious art doesn’t sell, don’t make it”. But when I noticed the visceral reaction many had when Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) burned, something clicked and I had a deep urge to make cathedral inspired work. It was inspiring to see people from different faith backgrounds from all over the world be affected by something that hit so close to home for me as a Catholic. Whether it was the recognition of the community that was being affected by this loss or recognizing the loss of art and architecture- society was affected on a higher level. Many people gravitate towards the ornate, the detailed, the decorative- and though I consider myself to be somewhat of a minimalist there is something to be said about the beauty of ornamentation. 

Juan Barroso: Immigrant Narratives

My work is about Mexican labor and the plight, struggle, hope, and heritage of Mexican immigrants. With political administrations that continue to enforce policies that dehumanize and force immigrants into the shadows, recognizing an immigrant’s humanity is vital. As the son of immigrant parents, I hope to pay homage to my people and the dignity of their labor. This exhibition, Immigrant Narratives, focuses on the stories of undocumented immigrants along the US-Mexico border.

 I see the water jug as a symbol of the dangerous journey across the desert. I grew up hearing stories of family friends that died in the desert before making it to the US. The water jug form was also my response to a video of an ICE officer dumping out water jugs that had been left behind by a humanitarian group. The water bottles had been left behind to prevent deaths from dehydration, and to see this man essentially condemning people to death with a smile on his face showed me what can happen when human beings are separated by an “us” and “them” mentality. 

The water jug form references the journey, and the hand-painted images on them depict some of the consequences undocumented immigrants face when the search for a better life is unsuccessful. The image of a child’s hand behind a chain link fence references the harsh living conditions for undocumented children in detention facilities at the border, including dehydration and more than 4000 allegations of sexual abuse in the last 5 years. This image is painful to paint, but I hope that when people see it, it can spark much needed conversations on human dignity. 

Juan Barroso. 2021.

I have included a limited series of iron decal mugs with images of the ICE officer that was recorded dumping out water, a caged child, and a monarch butterfly. These images were turned into decals from photographs of two large-scale graphite drawings I drew during a short-term residency at Companion Gallery. Because of its migration between the US and Mexico, I see the monarch butterfly as a symbol for the immigrant. The inclusion of the concertina razor wire reminds me of the photographs I saw of a mother and her child severely cut from the wire in an attempt to cross the border wall. In those images I saw an example of the price people are willing to pay for a chance at the American dream and a chance to provide a decent meal for their families. I made this series in an attempt to have both a more affordable tier of work and more pieces with these images out in the world. If I had hand-painted these images on each mug, the price would be higher than $350 just to get above minimum wage and this show would have taken all year to complete. Using a hand-drawn reference, different colors, and different image placement felt like a great way to still make unique pieces with a significant message. 

Before my parents became legal residents, I spent my childhood in Mexico waiting for my mother to get her green card. She sewed clothes, repaired clothes, washed clothes, and sold clothes so my sister and I could eat. We would ride around on bicycles to collect small payments because the people of San Miguel Octopan, Gunajuato could not afford to pay full price. The pitcher forms I have in this show are made from molds of detergent bottles. It was a way to honor my mother and everything she did for my family. The happier images on these pitchers have become a way for me to cope with the political work that takes an emotional toll over time. 

For the hand-painted images I use a small watercolor brush and paint my images with Amaco’s black underglaze on functional vessels. I use a pointillism technique because the process is time-consuming and labor intensive. The process, with time invested, becomes an act of devotion. 

After the imagery is painted on bisqueware, I bisque again to set the image and avoid smearing the underglaze. I protect the images with liquid latex and airbrush a clear glaze on the rest of the piece. I make the work permanent and functional by firing to cone 10 in an electric kiln.  – Juan Barroso

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