2023 AR - Layered Voices
the art + design of ceramics: layered voices
JUNE 3 — AUG 21: katherine choy / Jade snow wong
AUG 26 — NOV 13: stephanie h. shih / jolie ngo
Jade Snow Wong, Fruit Bowl, 1962, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Jolie Ngo, Flatpack Vessel in Wavelet, 2023, Courtesy R and Company
Katherine Choy, Multi Spout Pitcher, c. 1957, Clay Art Center
Stephanie H. Shih, Kit Kat Strawberry Milk, Kewpie Mayonnaise; Horlicks The Nourishing Food Drink: Café du Monde French Roast Coffee; Spam 25% Less Sodium: Ligo Sardines in Tomato Sauce Chili Added. Copyright © Stephanie H. Shih, 2021
This two-part installation within Dragon Rock’s House and Studio at Manitoga presents women ceramic artists working at mid-century and today. Spring featured the historical work of Katherine Choy (1927-1958) and Jade Snow Wong (1922-2006). Contemporaries of Russel and Mary Wright, both women were of Chinese heritage and entrepreneurial spirit who defied cultural convention to achieve creative freedom in post-war America. On display beginning late summer, the contemporary ceramics of Stephanie H. Shih and Jolie Ngo resist traditional formal definition. American-born of Asian descent, the artists mine cultural identity and memory and explore in different ways the interplay of handcraft, technology, and machine production. Spanning generations and diverse in form, articulation and technique, all of the objects on view share a tactile and intimate quality that is artfully contextualized within the domestic spaces of Dragon Rock.
In The Highlands Current: Ceramics Like You’re Never Seen
On view June 3 through Nov 13, 2023 with Tour Participation and during special programs and events.
SPECIAL TOUR: August 5, 2pm and 3pm - Curator James Zemaitis joined us to discuss the work of Jade Snow Wong, Katherine Choy, and Russel and Mary Wright.
Katherine Choy in New Orleans by Jack Robinson
Jade Snow Wong
Stephanie H. Shih by James T. Bee
Jolie Ngo
Conceived and curated by James Zemaitis, independent Design Curator and Director of Museum Relations, R & Company and Allison Cross, Executive Director, Manitoga / The Russel Wright Design Center.
The Art + Design of Ceramics: Layered Voices is made possible by generous loans of works from the following organizations and individuals: Clay Art Center (Katherine Choy), Dung Ngo (Jade Snow Wong), James Zemaitis (Jade Snow Wong), R & Company (Jolie Ngo), and from Berggruen Gallery, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Nic Dyer, David Eskenazi, Olivia Song and Scott Rofey (Stephanie H. Shih). Support has been provided by the Sara Little Turnbull Foundation, W.I.L.D. Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, MJS Foundation, Manitoga Board of Directors, and from William Burback and Dr. Peter Hofmann, Melissa Meyers & Wilbur Foster, and William Roos & Scott Olsen.
Jolie Ngo, 3Leg Platonic Love, 2022, Courtesy R and Company, Photo Vivian Linares
Jolie Ngo, left, XL Memory Palace Vessel in Taos; right, Flatpack Vessel in Wavy, 2023, Courtesy R and Company. Photo Vivian Linares
Stephanie H. Shih, Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, 2021, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody; Table setting, American Modern by Russel Wright, 1939. Photo by Vivian Linares
Stephanie H. Shih, Streit’s Passover Matzos, 2022, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody; Red Cross Iodized Salt, 2021, on loan from Nic Dyer; Spun Aluminum Round Vegetable bowl with Spoon by Russel Wright, 1933. Photo by Vivian Linares
Stephanie H. Shih, Hennessy V.S.O.P. Privilège Cognac, 2021, on loan from David Eskanzi; Spun aluminum ice bucket and tumblers on walnut / spun aluminum tray by Russel Wright, 1933. Photo Vivian Linares
Katherine Choy, stoneware vessels, 1957. Courtesy of the Clary Art Center
Stephanie H. Shih, Marlboro Red Filter Cigarettes, 2021, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody; Jolie Ngo, Ashtray, 2022, Courtesy of R & Company. Photo, Vivian Linares
Jade Snow Wong, various enamel work, 1950s, from the collections of Dung Ngo and James Zemaitis