Contemporary Ceramics: Glazed, Fired, and Queer

Complicated expressions of sexuality, gender identity, and queerness take form in the contemporary ceramics featured in a new exhibit at the Northern Clay Center's Main Gallery in Minneapolis.

"Sexual Politics: Gender, Sexuality, and Queerness in Contemporary Ceramics" features six artists, in a variety of stages in their careers, giving voice to themes of sexual politics, from quiet suggestions to overt statements, in a full variety of ceramic expressions: functional vessels, wall tiles, and sculptural forms.

In the past four decades, our society has seen dramatic shifts in the visibility and social acceptance of sexual and gender identities and expressions once dismissed simply as deviant. Through humor, irony, and tension, "Sexual Politics" aims to acknowledge these changes and invite the viewer in.

"Sexual Politics: Gender, Sexuality, and Queerness in Contemporary Ceramics"
Curated by Kelly Connole at the Northern Clay Center
March 13 to April 26, 2015
2424 Franklin Avenue East
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Main Gallery

Mark Burns, Jolly Rogers (Treasure Island) Ver. 3, circa 2000, ceramic, glaze, mixed media, 24" x 24" x 10".

Dustin Yager, Untitled (Conversation Piece: Lips and Legs), 2014, ceramic, 17" x 17" x 19" and 17" x 21" x 21".

Dustin Yager

Dustin Yager (detail)

Ron Geibel, Everything is Perfect

Mark Burns, Uncle Mark's Celebrity Sexcapades

Jeremy Brooks,Chuckaboo, 2014, ceramic decals, commercial porcelain plate, 10.25" x 10.25" x 1"

Jeremy Brooks (detail)

Jeremy Brooks, Chuckaboo. This work depicts two Victorian gentleman: one is standing while the other is kneeling with an arm extended toward the other's pubic area. The title of the work, "Chuckaboo" is a Victorian term for close friends. The illustration was created using a collage of commercial / hobby ceramic decals and is presented upon a commercial blank porcelain plate.

Jeremy Brooks (detail)

Kathy King,You Are Sooo Transgendered, 2008, carved porcelain, glaze, china paint

Kathy King, Who Do You Serve? (State)

Kathy King, Sue Plate, 2008, carved porcelain, glaze, 13" x 13" x 2"

Christina West, Misfits, 2014, glazed ceramic, pigmented Hydrocal, paint, epoxy, 27" x 18" x 15". Photo credit: Eddie Ing.

Christina West

Ron Geibel,Strike (detail), 2015, porcelain, luster, 30" x 31" x 8'