Exhibition Text

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ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce FIGURED OUT! Bodily Form in Contemporary Ceramics, an exhibition of ceramics in Gallery One curated by Andrew Rafacz and Nataliya Kotlova.

Chicago, IL, June 23, 2017 – ANDREW RAFACZ continues summer 2017 with FIGURED OUT! Bodily Form in Contemporary Ceramics, a group exhibition of ceramics by Saul Alegria, Aubry / Broquard, Lilli Carré, Alex Bradley Cohen, Manal Kara, James Kerley, Em Kettner, Katie Kimmel, Kate Klingbeil, David Leggett, Liz McCarthy, Jeffry Mitchell, William J. O’Brien, Jacob Raeder, Jennifer Rochlin, Leon Sadler, Julia Saldana, Elisa Soliven, Cristina Tufiño, Mark Whalen, and Bari Ziperstein. The exhibition continues through Saturday, August 19, 2017.

The artists in FIGURED OUT! investigate and present depictions of figure and bodily form through a variety of strategies and motifs. Demonstrating the many interpretations of figuration, they are unified by their use of material and a ceramics-focused practice. Representing different modes of making, these artists characterize the body through humor, fantasy, abstraction, history, and gesture. Spanning different methods of construction, many forms are direct references to body or body parts, while others possess bodily qualities and tones. Some artists create figural compositions directly from the shaping of their medium, while others introduce painting or other mark making to the surface of shapes & forms. By surveying these many different approaches, this exhibition aims to give a sense of the possibility and diversity in contemporary ceramics.

SAUL ALEGRIA (American, b. 1987) is an artist with autism who creates at NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California.

AUBRY / BROQUARD Bastien Aubry (Swiss, b. 1974) and Dimitri Broquard (Swiss, b. 1969) have been collaborating since they met while studying at the Ecole d’arts visuels Berne et Bienne in Switzerland.

LILLI CARRÉ (American, b. 1983) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She received her MFA from Northwestern University in 2016 and her BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2006.

ALEX BRADLEY COHEN (American, b. 1989) lives and works in Chicago. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2014, and is enrolled in the MFA program at Northwestern University. MANAL KARA (Moroccan-American, b. 1986) lives and works in Gary, IN.

JAMES KERLEY (American, b. 1995) lives and works in Chicago. He will earn his BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2018.

EM KETTNER (American, b. 1988) lives and works in Chicago, IL and El Cerrito, CA. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she currently teaches in the Painting and Drawing Department.

KATIE KIMMEL (American, b.1991) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2015.

KATE KLINGBEIL (American, b. 1990) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BFA from the California College of the Arts in 2012.

DAVID LEGGETT (American, b. 1980) lives and works in Chicago. IL. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2007 and his BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2003.

LIZ MCCARTHY (American, b. 1986) lives and works in Chicago, IL. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2017 and her BFA from University of North Carolina in Asheville in 2009.

JEFFRY MITCHELL (American, b. 1958) lives and works in Seattle, WA. He received his MFA at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Philadelphia in 1988 and a BA in Painting at the University of Dallas, Irving in 1980.\

WILLIAM J. O’BRIEN (American, b. 1975) lives and works in Chicago, IL. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2005 and his BA in Studio Art Loyola University, Chicago in 1997.

JACOB RAEDER (American, b. 1986) lives and works in Philadelphia and Chicago. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2015, his BFA from Gerrit Rietveld Acadamie in Amsterdam in 2012, and his BFA and BA in Philosophy from Alfred University 2008.

JENNIFER ROCHLIN (American, b. 1968) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999 and her BA in Fine Arts and and Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991.

LEON SADLER (British, b. 1984) lives and works in Nottingham, UK. He received his BA in Graphic Arts from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2007.

JULIA SALDAÑA (American, b, 1995) lives and works in Chicago and Los Angeles. She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2017.

ELISA SOLIVEN (American, b.1975) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her MFA from the Hunter College in 2011 and her BA in Art History and Studio Art from Bryn Mawr College in 1999.

CHRISTINA TUFIÑO (Puerto Rican, b. 1982) lives and works in New York and Philadelphia. She received her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia in 2013 and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2007.

MARK WHALEN (Australian, b.1982) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

BARI ZIPERSTEIN (American, b. 1978) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She received her MFA from the Cal Arts in 2004 and her BFA from Ohio University, Athens in 2000.