Editor’s Pick

“Twelve contemporary artists needle mud toward humor, distortion, politics, and play to prove, once again, that clay has the power to make us squirm, wonder and laugh. The Bay Area’s Funk ceramics movement of the 1960s flickers here but the mood is stranger, livelier, more surreal. Woody De Othello’s warped household objects, Cathy Lu’s prosperous peaches, Nathan Lynch’s communal fountain, and Annabeth Rosen’s delirious pile-ups turn the ground beneath us upside down. PLUS all this is nestled in the lush gardens of a historic Villa among the redwoods.”

-Inga Bard

About the Exhibition

What if we are each beautiful, even if we are strange? In this moment, when the world is chaotic, when the truth is distorted, and we face policies that seek to divide and diminish us, we need art more than ever. In this exhibition, twelve contemporary artists who sculpt with clay – stretching the properties of this earth-bound medium to create fearless new forms– intentionally draw us into their worlds with humor, play, and even strange motifs. These surreal, whimsical, and colorful works of art encourage us to wonder and look at the world through a different lens.

Curators of the exhibition: Kelly Sicat, Director of the Lucas Artists Program, and Judy Koong Dennis, Assistant Curator and Program Manager.