CraftTexas 2018

September 29, 2018 — January 6, 2019
In the Main and Front Galleries

Award of Merit Winners & Juror’s Statement

Exhibition Reception
Friday, September 28, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
At 6:30 PM, Jennifer Scanlan will give three artists the Award of Merit prizes for best in show. The evening will also feature open studios by the current resident artists, tacos from Moon Rooster food truck, and beer provided by Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co.

Juror’s Tour with Jennifer Scanlan
Saturday, September 29, 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Scanlan will point out some highlights from this year’s biennial and discuss the exhibition’s relationship to what is happening within the field of craft today.

CraftTexas 2018 is the tenth in a series of biennial juried exhibitions showcasing the best in Texas-made contemporary craft. Juried by Jennifer Scanlan, Curatorial and Exhibitions Director at Oklahoma Contemporary, the show features 50 works by 36 artists and includes a wide range of sculpture, jewelry, and furniture, with a strong emphasis on cutting-edge works.

The CraftTexas series provides a unique opportunity for Texas artists to have their work viewed by a nationally recognized juror and to display their work in an exhibition that strives to broaden the understanding of contemporary craft. This year, Scanlan selected her favorite works from a pool of 173 applicants.   In her juror’s statement, she commented: “Many of the works that I juried into the exhibition presented materials in innovative ways. Clay and fiber, used by humans for millennia, were revealed with unexpected textures and shapes. Others incorporated materials that were new or unusual in a craft context, such as rice husk fiber and Styrofoam. While craft is often associated with tradition and the past, these artists remind us that creative material exploration is often the impetus for technological advances.”

After reviewing Scanlan’s selections, HCCC Curator Kathryn Hall commented on the surprising variety of works in the show. “From Alex Goss’ beautifully tooled YouScrew, whose smiling screwheads remind people not to touch, to Brian Molanphy’s collaboration with a mud-dauber nest, this year’s juried exhibition challenges us to think critically about the presence of craft in our everyday lives as well as continue to recognize master craftspeople such as enamellist and HCCC Texas Master, Harlan Butt.”

CraftTexas 2018 Artists

Antonius Bui
Vincent Burke
Harlan Butt
Horacio Casillas
Kat Cole
Andrew Colopy and David Costanza
Jennifer Ling Datchuk
Brooke M. Davis
Mariela Dominguez
Claire Drennan
Maria Bang Espersen
Terry Fromm
Daniel Garver
Ron Geibel
Alex Goss
Nell Gottlieb
Eric and Morgan Grasham
Jessica Kreutter
Qing Liu
Marcos Medellin
Brian Molanphy
Kelly Noonan
Kelly O’Briant
Angel Oloshove
Raphaële
Catherine Winkler Rayroud
Tammie Rubin
Joan Son
Olga Starostina
Jessica Tolbert
Doerte Weber
Chesley Williams
Elizabeth Wood
Karen Woodward

About the Juror

Jennifer Scanlan is the curatorial and exhibitions director at Oklahoma Contemporary in Oklahoma City. She has curated a number of exhibitions at that institution, including Melvin Edwards: In Oklahoma, Jeffrey Gibson: Speak to Me, and ArtNow 2017. From 2013 through 2015, she was a New York-based independent curator focusing on contemporary art and design.  Her exhibitions included Pathmakers: Women in Art; Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; Made for You: New Directions in Contemporary Design at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz; and Back to Eden: Contemporary Artists Wander the Garden at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York.  Previously, she was the associate curator at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Scanlan has lectured internationally and has taught at Courtauld Institute of Art Summer School in London, England, and at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. She has a BA in art history and Italian from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, and a MA in the history of decorative arts, design, and culture from the Bard Graduate Center, New York, New York.

Image credits: (1) Antonius Bui, “Amadia,” 2017. Hand-cut paper, monoprint. 76 x 48 inches. Photo by artist. (2) Harlan Butt, “Glacier Vessel #5,” 2017. Silver, enamel. 6 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches. Photo by artist. (3) Horacio Casillas, “Community Well,” 2018. Ceramic. 4 x 5 x 5 feet.  Photo by artist. (4) Kat Cole, “Black Gold – Mitosis,” 2018. Steel, enamel, gold luster, thread, black agate. 7 x 4 x 0.5 inches. Photo by artist. (5) David Costanza and Andrew Colopy, “Veer,” 2017. Recycled PVC, rice husk fiber. 16 x 32 inches. Photo by artists. (6) Jennifer Ling Datchuk, “Basic Bitch,” 2017. Slip-cast porcelain, blue and white nails. Print: 36 x 48 inches. Ring: 4 x 1 x 2 inches. Photo by Ansen Seale. (7) Brooke Davis, “BMD Tablescape,” 2012. Hard rock maple. 58 x 90 x 32 inches. Photo by artist. (8) Mariela Dominguez, “Barrio,” 2018. Found street sign, styrofoam, modeling clay. 35 x 35 x 16 inches. Photo by artist. (9) Daniel Garver, “Shift,” 2016. Linen and wool fibers. 34 x 52 inches. Photo by Mercedes Jelinek. (10) Ron Geibel, “Experimenting with Couples,” 2017. Porcelain. Approximately 5.5 x 3 x 3 inches. Photo by artist. (11) Alex Goss, “YouScrew,” 2017. Stainless steel. Dimensions variable. Photo by artist. (12) Jessica Kreutter, “Wind is where we came from,” 2018. Porcelain, wire, discarded table. 30 x 17 x 47 inches. Photo by artist. (13) Marcos Medellin, “Squeeze,” 2018. Train tie, insulation, ratchet strap, cement. 87 x 22 x 15 inches. Photo by artist. (14) Angel Oloshove, “His Side of the Bed with the Body Cut Out,” 2018. Ceramic. 15 x 13 x 5 inches. Photo by artist. (15) Raphaële, “Ultra Marine,” 2018. Mixed found objects. 10 x 10 x 1 inches. Photo by Joe Aker. (16) Tammie Rubin, “Always & Forever (forever, ever, ever) No. 1,” 2016. Porcelain, underglaze, pigmented clay. 12 x 47 x 16 inches. Photo by artist. (17) Olga Starostina, “Praying Circle,” 2017. Free-cast aluminum, leather, cotton thread. 15 x 6 x 0.75 inches. Photo by artist. (18) Jessica Tolbert, “StapleWear Necklace 2,” 2018. Staples. 28 inches. Photo by artist. (19) Doerte Weber, “Fields of Textures,” 2017. Structural weaving with various fibers. 38 x 27 inches. Photo by Ansen Seale. (20) Chesley Antoinette Williams, “Feliciana,” 2018. Fibers. 11 x 17 inches. Photo by artist. (21) Karen Woodward, “The Thinker,” 2017. Flameworked glass, LEDs, mixed media, wood panel. 24 x 24 x 2 inches. Photo by artist.