There has always been a tension between ceramics as an
object of utility and as an object of art. A new gallery, Charlotte Call,
opened in Los Angeles brings together a pioneering ceramic artist with
contemporary artist that draw upon the connection ceramic as design and ceramic
as an art form. “Fire and Life” connects Beatrice Wood (1893 – 1989), with a diverse group of
artists, Durimel, Cecilia Granara, Amy Steel, and Yuwei Tu, that embody a sense
that art, life and utility, which are connected in inextricable ways. To each
of these artists, including Wood, the object is more than useful. The object is
a conduit to both the corpus erotic nature of art and the utilitarian aspect
where ceramics emerges.
The exhibition begins with Beatrice Woods. Woods was a pioneering
ceramic artist who was based in nearby Ojai. The works by Woods reflect a
desire to draw parallels between the sensuality of ceramics and irreverent
nature of form that is both aesthetically pleasing and humorous in its
presentation. Wood is the starting point. The exhibition features both ceramic
and works on paper which straddle the form as a body and the form as use. This
kind of dichotomy frees Woods’ work from a utility to an artform. The works on
paper complement and reinforce this movement with a dialogue between the body
and the feminine nature of form. Curves and female figures show an almost Bauhaus
approach of a playful and humorous nature.
The feminine and playfulness continues with the four artists,
Durimel, Cecilia Granara, Amy Steel, and Yuwei Tu. Three of the four are not ceramic
artists like Woods. However, they continue to explore the ideas of femineity,
form and nature. Durimel is a Parisian duo who create photographic still life pictures
where shadow and object are displayed in dialogue. The photos are chiaroscuro
in their composition where the various objects of wood and stone recede and advance
in the photographic plane. Cecilia Granara and Amy Steel are painters add a
humorous dimension to the exhibition. Granara’s “Whale {Love} III” depicts two
lovers swallowed and entwined in embrace within the belly of a whale. Amy
Steel’s “Winter” has a woman lying down with a rabbit in a strange erotic
encounter. The landscape is painted in broad loose strokes in pink and pastels
that give it a fluid landscape. Out of the four artist in dialogue with Wood’s
work, Yuwei Tu is the only ceramicist in the show. In Tu’s “In Brace” long finger like figures begin wrap themselves around a
painting as if to capture and squeeze the canvas.
In the end, “Fire and Life” offers a new approach to seeing
Beatrice Wood in bringing together art in light of four current artist practicing
in a dialogue and playful embrace of the iconic artist. Woods and the accompanying
artist invite us to both compare and contrast with humor and wit. Charlotte
Call and its exhibition mark an excellent entry into LA's growing scene on
Western Ave in Melrose Hill, joining neighbors such as David Zwirner, Chateau Shatto,
and Ochi.
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| Beatrice Wood "Fusion" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Coffee Break" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Three Works (Detail)" |
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| Amy Steel "Winter (detail)" |
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| Beatrice Wood "I Lost Him" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Zero Hour" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Teapot" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Double Chalice" |
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| Cecilia Granara "Whale (Love) III" |
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| Cecilia Granara "Pregnant" |
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| Durimel "Pine I" |
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| Yuwei Tu "In Brace" |
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| Beatrice Wood |
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| Durimel "Honor Roll" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Fisherman" |
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| Beatrice Wood "Fisherman (detail)" |
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