Current & Upcoming Exhibits
Gallery Hours
Monday-Friday: noon-5pm
Saturdays: noon-3pm
Albert Pfarr: Vessels of Communication
October 1-30, 2021
reception- Friday October 1, 5-8pm
Gallery Hours: M-F 12-5pm, Saturdays 12-3pm
DUE TO THE HIGH LEVEL OF COVID TRANSMISSION IN MISSOULA COUNTY, WE WILL BE REQUIRING MASKS INSIDE OUR GALLERY. The artist reception will be hosted just outside the gallery.
Albert Pfarr is a ceramic artist, 3D printing and ceramic materials developer, and a teacher. He earned his MFA at Alfred University and has taught ceramics and sculpture at Washington University in St. Louis, The Clay Art Center, Greenwich House Pottery in New York and many workshops around the country. His artwork has been featured in Sculpture Magazine, Art & Perception and Ceramics Monthly. He has shown his art throughout the U.S. and in South Korea, Argentina, and the Netherlands. He grew up in Long Island, New York, and lives in Missoula, Montana with his family.
For most of my career, I’ve made ceramic artwork that is at least 10 feet tall, 2,000 pounds and made of hundreds of interchangeable, breakable ceramic parts. Making it and moving it around the country and across the globe has been no small feat. Much of my life as an artist has revolved around clay art studios and teaching gigs and finding facilities where I can make my large-scale work. I've enjoyed these experiences, but I’ve made some changes lately. I’m now making artwork that is 10 inches tall and light as a feather, but, I hope, just as complex as my larger pieces.
To create this new work, I use a 3D printer and software, a new porcelain-like material for mold-making that I developed with a partner from MIT, and traditional firing and glazing processes.
“Vessels of Communication” is a series of "books" that reference nature's impulse to pass down information through time through a variety of mediums both natural and human-made. DNA, cuneiform tablets, physical books, the 1s and 0s of digital communication -- all seek to save information for future generations, to extend life and consciousness. These porcelain books, made with both ancient and new technology, are a way of honoring this phenomenon. They consist of delicate, complex patterns formed within book-like shapes and they're glazed with vibrant translucent blue and green celadons. I hope that they prove to be curious objects that will sustain the viewer's contemplation through numerous encounters.
Gallery events are free and open to the public.
FUTURE EXHIBITIONS
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November- UM Graduate Exhibition
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December- Holiday Sale & Exhibition