Modern Craft History: Western Ceramics Critical Review Critical Thinking

The New York Ceramics and Glass fair 2015 that was held at the Bohemian National Hall located at the 321 East 73rd Street. The fair took place between 21st to the 25th of January. The exhibition featured the Ferrin Contemporary Booth  that was located on the fourth floor of the hall while the Ferrin Contemporary Exhibition featuring Special made in China were displayed on the Booths located on the 3rd Floor. Many artists from different parts of the world attended the fair and they exhibited their ceramics and portrayed some of the key changes in the industry that had been evident in the past decade. A new form of art is arising if one has to judge from the recently concluded fair. Artists are now working cross-culturally by exchanging ideas and even working together to create a spectacular finish of their products. The main aspect of the displays in the 3rd floor of the exhibition was to examine some of the ceramic-centric swaps that is now picking up between the eastern and the western countries. The eastern and western markets of ceramics are beginning to collaborate in exhibition of some of their contemporary goods. The exhibition was a clear indication of the increasing collaboration that is picking up between the different artists from the two parts of the world (The New York Ceramics and Glass Fair, 2015).
The New York Ceramics and Glass fair 2015 only served as one of the many platforms where cultural and market exchanges are being witness in the world of art. The differences in the work of art from the different continents is apparent, but the fact that each of the two are working together to ensure free passage of art from one country to the other is a major boost towards an increasing exchange of art. The weight of this move to leave a whole booth for the exhibition of China ceramics and others means that the export of ware from china will be on the rise. It is worth noting also that some renowned American artists are going to China to work with local Chinese artists to produce their ceramics using different traditional Chinese methods. Therefore, the exhibition did a lot to bring out the current export of ceramics from china and the potential it places on the exchange of the different products.
During the exhibition, it was evident that contemporary artists were embracing the late 20th and 21st artwork as compared to the past where most of the exhibitions were Staffordshire or Wedgewood. One the artists who drew the attention of many were Brit Paul Scott. He is one of the few artists who can make a blend of the 19th century ceramics of blue-and-white to become a soothing inspiration. He is one of those artists whose work is not defined in one period. He can make platters and serving dishes at one point in time and then move on to meld them in gold. In this regards, he has breached the regional and cultural gap and went with Chinese decorations in some of the bowl he displayed during the exhibition. The blue-and-white bowl under display has some incorporation of different black decals from, Ai Weiwei, a dissident artist from China (The New York Ceramics and Glass Fair, 2015). The artist is renowned for the creation of smashing and the adaption of ideas from ancient vessels used by the Chinese. He knows how to create wares that communicates with the viewer and attracts their attention to the main feature in the creation. It is not common to find artists who can work across different times and be able to blend the different works together.
Vipoo Srivilasa’s angel collection is also one of the exhibitions in the fair that attracted the attention of many. To some extent the work of this artist almost falls under the same cat5egory as that of Paul Scott (The New York Ceramics and Glass Fair, 2015). The two have a way of playing with the decorations in their work and it always bring whatever they want into life. In the case of the angle collection, it is evident that the artist is following a common line and has the same idea when creating each of them. He used black and blue decals at the side of his porcelains and this gives it a cool end. The difference between his work and that of Paul Scott is in his use of animation. Both artists have a way of finishing their creation, but in the case of Vipoo, he does not end his decals at the edges of the piece of art, but goes on to put some animation of the centre of his ceramic. Despite the differences and similarities that were evident in the fair one cannot deny that the world of art has changed dramatically in the past decades. The artists are now working together to create a blend of different cultures into their work. The cultural exchange of ideas is giving the exhibitions a new feel. People going to these fairs feel connected with art from other continents especially the European and the Chinese art (Vipoo, 2015). These changes are probably going to increase in next year’s exhibition and one expects to see more of the cultural blending and collaboration of artists from the different parts of the world. It is also important to note that during these fairs, artists always get a chance to explore new markets. The fairs are opening up ware export channels that will see an increase in import and export of wares from different continents.

References

Vipoo, S. (2015). Ferrin Contemporary. Retrieved from
<http://ferrincontemporary.com/portfolio-items/vipoo-srivilasa/>
The New York Ceramics and Glass Fair 2015. Retrieved from
<http://ferrincontemporary.com/portfolio-items/new-york-ceramics-fair-2015/>