USU Art Museum Celebrates Ceramic Artist-In-Residence at Closing Reception

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University will feature an exhibition and closing reception for renowned ceramic artist-in-residence Owen Rye Friday, Jan. 18.

The museum invites the public to attend the reception from 5-6:30 p.m. at the museum.

 

Rye has been studying, practicing, teaching and writing about ceramic art for 40 years. His interest in ceramics led him overseas and into the world of archaeology. Funded by the Smithsonian Institute, he studied traditional potters and glassmakers of Pakistan and Israel, later writing a book on ceramics for archaeologists. He is a well-known leader in the woodfire movement in Australia and overseas, and his interest in all things involving clay and fire has made him a valued teacher across the broad spectrum of ceramics.

 

Working with Utah State University’s ceramic program in the art department, Rye has explored the unique woodfire kilns distinctive to the USU program. During his semester-long residency at USU, he demonstrated his process to ceramics students and mentored young and developing potters.

 

The woodfired pot, unalterably unique, with its distortions and flaws, is not of a different world — it is also the consequence of a human act,” Rye said. “But it reminds us of a different attitude, a different approach where logic is balanced by deviations in the plan, by accidents along the way, by a sensory response rather than an intellectual one.”

 

Among the exhibited works are vessels from two firings.

 

“The finishes achieved in these firings are what makes Owen Rye’s work distinctive,” said Dan Murphy, associate professor of art in the ceramics program.

 

A collection of 21 pots produced during his residency will be on exhibit at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art through March 1. For more information about this exhibition and event, call (435) 797-0163.

 

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art is located on the USU campus at 650 North 1100 East, Logan, Utah, 84322, (435) 797-0163; fax (435) 7978-3423. Information is available at the museum’s Web site. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, noon-4 p.m. The museum is closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays. Admission is free. The museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.

 

Parking is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends. Two dedicated stalls are available for museum members; please call Rachel at (435) 797-1414 for reservations. Parking is also available in the USU Parking Terrace, located near the Taggart Student Center, for $1.50/hour ($7.50/day maximum). Free parking after 2 p.m. is available at lot B, located at the corner of 700 North and 1200 East (by Aggie Ice Cream).