Highlights from Distilled Essences at Charlie Cummings Gallery

Lorna Meaden

Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph

Doug Peltzman

Forrest Lesch-Middleton

Ted Neal

Brett Freund

Chris Pickett

Shawn Spangler

Yoko Sekino-Bove

Charlie Cummings Gallery is featuring Distilled Essences from March 2nd - 30th. The exhibition features a wide range of pouring vessels from 16 artists around the U.S. These are just a few of my favorites so make sure to check out the whole show at www.claylink.com.

I sent five decanters of various types for the show. The two forms below are ones that I want to make again. It is a bit odd for me to make these because I have never used a decanter in my life. I don't think I am unique in this experience. Decanters sit firmly in the realm of the antiquated object. They are a symbol pointing towards the past and a rich man's drinking custom on the edge of extinction. When I see a decanter I can't help but divorce it from its function. I see them more as a symbol of wealth than a functional object.

This show pushed me to question the other forms that I make that are more about ideas than use, i.e. cake plate = decadence, etc. Somewhere in the questioning of the decanter there is a kernel of insight about objects being symbols. I can't put my finger on it yet but I think these forms will lead me to ask the right questions in the studio.