Sonoma Community Center Hosts Table Flares: Signals of Social and Environmental Change                           March 4 – 26, 2022

Sonoma, Calif. (March 4, 2022) – The Sonoma Community Center in conjunction with the National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Arts (NCECA) is hosting Table Flares: Signals of Social and Environmental Change, as a part of the 2022 NCECA conference. Contemporary California artists creating clay vessels and sculpture render visible the sociopolitical networks embedded in food and ceramics. Foodways bring attention to the the objects, activities, rituals, and beliefs that, for better or worse, connect people to food, the land, and one another. Here the table is a share cultural site upon which both tableware and fare promote cross-cultural dialogue, connecting communities across the field, market, hearth, and table.

To this end, Table Flares highlights a spread of California ceramics — cups, plates, bowls, and sculptural objects — by contemporary artists who engage deeply with theories of critical race, decolonialism, eco centrism, feminism, and queerness. Abiam Alvarez, Julie Cloutier, Ilana Crispi, Nicki Green, Cathy Lu, Jose Nava Flores, Kala Stein, Ehren Tool, and Mary Cale A Wilson employ ceramics as a vehicle for communal celebration and self expressions, while also addressing labor inequalities, access to healthy food, and racial stereotypes. By invoking the term “flare” through the exhibition’s title, we illuminate underserved histories, while also signaling a growing hunger for a broader narrative of California ceramic art.

Curator’s Walk Through on Zoom: March 4th, 5:00 PM PT

Pre-Opening Members Only Toast with the Curator’s: 5:45 PM PT, Back Patio at The Center

In Person Curator’s Talk: 6:00 PM-6:30PM PT 

In Person Opening Reception: 6:00PM-8:00PM PT in Gallery 212

Please note: The Sonoma Community Center still requires masks indoors at all times. Please come prepared; we will have extra masks for those at the door without one. There is a 25 person capacity for the gallery at one time; Thank you for working with us to keep our communities safe. 

For more information on the exhibition or to arrange a private tour, please contact Megan Billingham at meg@sonomacommunitycenter.org

 

Artists from left to right, top to bottom: Nicki Green, Mary Cale A Wilson, Jose Flores Nava, Abiam Alvarez, Ehren Tool, Cathy Lu, Ilana Crispi, Julie Cloutier, Kala Stein 

Some work in the exhibition will be for sale upon the opening of the show. Please reach out to meg@sonomacommunitycenter.org for more details

Chief curators, Sara Morris and Matthew Limb are PhD Candidates in History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

This Exhibition is organized by Kala Stein and supported by Sonoma Community Center, Amaco Brent, and Clay People