ason Jacques Gallery, in collaboration with the Elizabeth Dee Gallery, announces Joel Otterson: The Excited Eye, an exhibition of the self-titled ceramiphile Joel Otterson. The artist will present a curated selection of sculptures that draw inspiration from aspects of domestic handicraft and traditional materials. Otterson’s interest in the Gesamkunstwerk or total work of art, keeps his works in conversation with one another and their environments. The Excited Eye will open with a reception with the artist, at 29 East 73rd Street, on May 1st, 6:00-8:00pm, and remain on view through June 16th.
Copper pipe, pottery and glass, cast metal, and lace are the raw materials that often constitute Otterson’s work. The artist blurs the line between the seemingly disparate spheres of learned and vernacular culture, art, and craft to create poignant sculptures that are both utilitarian sculptural objects. His current thought process has led to an investigation of classical Greek vessels whose forms he considers sublime. Otterson, in his own words, is “fascinated that these forms and their genetics have been spread throughout the history of the world.” Through his art, he places himself into this historical progression.
Otterson’s use of varied mediums and processes has grown out of his interest in the development of domestic landscape, and everything in relationship to human beings. His deconstructivist approach helps him to apprehend the nature of the material and visual culture that follows human living. “The vessel is gone,” he muses, “and only the decoration is left.”
