Please Elaborate: An Exploration of the Ceramic Surface

guest curated and juried by Eva Champagne

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works by George Metropoulos McCauley, Kelly Stevenson, Sue Tirrell, Cassandra Beattie, Nina Berinstein, Gabriella Brinkley, Janet K. Burner, Jason L Edmonds, Maddie Gage, Sasha Hill, Samantha Hostert, Madeline Kaczmarczyk, Hannah Kautto, Macgregor Mason, Caitlin Ross, Shana Salaff, Ariana Stein, Mabel Thaden, Veronica Watkins, Sabrina Weld.

 

Exhibition runs October 2-31, 2026

Opening reception October 2, 5-8pm

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Online gallery available starting October 5 - view HERE

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This exhibition brings together ceramic works that begin with function—vessels, tools, or forms that reference use—but deliberately move beyond it. Here, function is treated as a point of departure. The ceramic object’s real or implied utility anchors the work in lived experience, while the surface is the primary site of inquiry, expansion, and narrative delivery.

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Across the exhibition, surface treatment is intentionally and rigorously handled. Glaze, slip, texture, mark-making, and material interventions are not decorative afterthoughts, but conceptual agents that deepen meaning. Surfaces elaborate on function, disrupt it, or complicate it, transforming familiar forms into carriers of memory, labor, ritual, cultural reference, and more. What might initially read as a bowl, cup, or container unfolds into something more layered—where touch, visual density, and material history invite sustained looking and interpretation.

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The works on view honor ceramic tradition while pressing against its boundaries. Established techniques and historical references may be present, yet they are reconfigured through experimentation, hybrid processes, and contemporary sensibilities. Innovation engages in conversation with lineage, respecting the discipline’s deep roots while insisting on its continued evolution.

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In this exhibition, form and surface operate in equal measure. The object’s function initiates the dialogue, but content emerges through the fusion of form and surface: through deliberate choices of technique, material, and composition. Surface is at least half the story, carrying conceptual weight and emotional resonance, and affirming ceramics as a medium uniquely capable of holding complexity, intimacy, and depth.

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The exhibition will be on display at the Clay Studio of Missoula from October 2-31, with an opening on Friday, October 2 from 5-8pm

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Gallery events are free and open to the public.
 

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