The clay’s the thing when it comes to a new exhibit at ETSU’s B. Carroll Reece Museum.
“Reflections of Environment and Form” is a new exhibit running through Feb. 13 in two rooms of the museum. The exhibit combines the works of four artists who differ in the way they use their medium.
In the lobby of the museum, there are pieces of art on the wall by Vincent Burke. His art is actually a mixed media, consisting of wall hangings that look like cushions, with fabric covering them and clay stuck on them in various shapes and sizes.
“For the last two years, I have been working on an evolving series of wall-mounted sculptures that express my interest in dichotomy,” Burke said in the exhibit program.
In another room of the Reece Museum, the works of the other three artists can be found together. Most noticeable are the seemingly unfinished pieces of furniture in the middle of the room. These are the works of Sarah Lindley, an assistant professor of Art at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, MI.
Lindley made pieces out of clay that resemble three pieces of furniture: a trunk, a roll-top desk and a chest of drawers, all of which are life-size.
“My artwork is based on objects and containers from the home,” Lindley said in a statement by e-mail. “In my work, chests, desks, and cabinets are reduced to systems and structures incapable of function. Stripped of their color, mass and contents, these pieces loosely define the forms and domestic environments they are referencing.”
Lindley’s work has had an effect on at least one person. “By creating these pieces in porcelain in the manner that she has done, I believe it will cause people to have a better appreciation of regular everyday furniture because this is like a skeletal form that is an art form and it’s got so many levels that one can view and, I hope, appreciate,” said Blair White, director and curator of Reece Museum.
On the walls parallel to Lindley’s works are the works of Sally Brogden, who teaches at UT-Knoxville. She uses the clay to make gray and gold-looking sculptures that hang on the wall. Her sculptures are a result of her interpretations of the world, she said in the brochure.
Nearby, the works of Jae Won Lee dot shelves on the walls.
Lee’s work consists of clay boxes stacked on one another. His work may appear simple but can be complex. “My boxes appear unitary, simple and introverted, but the surface treatment reveals subtle complexities and allusions in an elegant way,” Lee said in the brochure.
This exhibit came to the museum because there was a time frame in between its showing at Ewing Gallery at UT-Knoxville and its showing in Baltimore at the National Clay Conference, White said.
“I wanted to be able to show modern clay in order to show another aspect of the artistic use of clay,” White said.
The exhibit seems to be a crowd pleaser because White said he has received positive feedback from those who have seen it.
Reece Museum is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Thursday 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

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