‘CA Clay’ exhibit highlights state’s ceramicists

Oreo by Robert Arneson

Sacramento State’s University Library Gallery will open its fall 2005 season with “CA Clay,” an exhibit of ceramic works by trend-setting, contemporary California artists. The show starts Sept. 2 and runs through Nov. 12. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. A reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., Sept. 2 in the gallery.

The six-week exhibit includes sculptures, vases—even an oversized Oreo cookie —by renowned ceramicists such as Peter Voulkos, Robert Arneson and Henry Takemoto. And all the works are from the collection of Sacramento State emeritus professor Robert Aichele.

Voulkos, a former UC Berkeley professor, is widely credited with establishing the “California Clay” tradition through his abstract expressionist approach to ceramics. Voulkos’ uniting of clay with the sprit of the action painter in the 1950s quickly earned him the respect of his contemporaries, and the attention of talented students including Arneson and Takemoto. Arneson went on to pursue a more narrative, “pop” art style, and eventually earned a professorship at UC Davis, while Takemoto developed a bold sense of form, style and touch in his pieces.

According to exhibition coordinator Auna Kirk, “CA Clay” is a show designed to highlight the period of time in which ceramics was elevated from craft to fine art five decades ago. “It combines works from artists widely considered to be the fountainheads of a modern ceramic movement,” says Kirk.

Details: University Library Gallery at 278-2368.