Elevation: Kaneko and Contemporary Ceramics

Dates: September 15 through December 9, 2023

Opening Reception: Friday, September 15, 5-8PM

Gallery Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 12-5PM; Friday, 12-7PM

The Elaine L. Jacob Gallery, Wayne State University (WSU), is pleased to present Elevation: Kaneko and Contemporary Ceramics, September 15 through December 9, 2023, with an opening reception on Friday, September 15, 5-8PM.

Elevation: Kaneko and Contemporary Ceramics honors artist Jun Kaneko and his impact on the field of ceramics as he pushes the medium conceptually and technically, expanding the scale of ceramics into the sculptural realm, creating works “to look up to.” This exhibition aims to unpack this phrase, partnering Kaneko’s ceramics with artists whose work reaches new conceptual heights. The works on view explore identity and culture to venerate the lived experience of persons who have not historically been celebrated in this craft-turned-fine-arts arena. Additionally, Elevation includes artists whose materiality expands the use of clay beyond Western conventions bringing together objects to look up to for their reverence of varied ways of life and modes of making, stemming from clay as a cross-cultural, communicative medium.

This exhibition was curated by Jessika Edgar, Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator of Ceramics, WSU and Kat Goffnett, Assistant Curator of Collections, Cranbrook Art Museum, and features work by the following artists: Jun Kaneko, Renata Cassiono Alvarez, Ebitenyefa Baralaye, Ashwini Bhat, Magdolene Dykstra, Adebunmi Gbadebo, Sharbini Das Gupta, Kahlil Robert Irving, Michiko Murakami, Joey Quiñones, and Patrice Renee Washington.