Brian Benfer, Sharbani Das Gupta, Jessica Dupuis, John Emerson, Jeff Forster, and Kamila Szczesna REady MADE

In conjunction with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) 47th Annual Conference – Houston, TX – March 20-23, 2013

REady MADE features the work of six artists who integrate discarded items with clay and ceramic processes as a means of personal expression. Through this investigation the works transform from being “ready mades” to being re-made. While Brian Benfer’s work is the resulting residue from his process, Jessica Dupuis and Kamila Szczesna dip their found objects in slip and fire, transforming them into completely new and often unrecognizable compositions. John Emerson takes a vastly different approach, slip casting old objects to create multiples that are then constructed into formal arrangements. While Sharbani Das Gupta also employs the casting process, she then reconstructs these forms with un-altered discards to speak to consumption and lost. Jeff Forster covers found objects in raw clay, exploiting the living quality of the material, to emphasize the fragility of the culture that produced them.

Jessica Dupuis’ project is made possible by an Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artists Grant from the Durham Arts Council with support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.