PROJECT SPACE

BARRY CANTER |  Ceramic Sculpture

September 8 - October 20, 2017

VIEW EXHIBITION

In the Back Room, Barry Canter will be present a series of ceramic sculptures. The hand-built vessels are tied to one another through their common initial form: the cylinder. This basic shape is constructed from a flat slab of clay rolled into a circular column of varying dimensions. Various tools are used to create contours in a process that is calculated, but also somewhat disorderly. The design of the vessel will grow from these interventions. In order to create visual cohesion, a smoothing tool is used to integrate the forms into a shape that is articulated, but not quite familiar. As the clay dries, a scraping tool scratches the surface, uncovering a gritty texture that will cause random variations in the glaze. The kiln firing adds a final uncontrolled effect, creating an object that is inspired by, and belongs to, the natural world.

Barry Canter has lived and worked in New York City since 1980. He spent many years working with paper, creating abstract collages, experimenting with line, color, and the relationships between adjacent volumes. This body of work culminated with a show at Frederieke Taylor Gallery. Now working with clay in three dimensions, his ceramic sculptures have been exhibited at Situations Gallery in Chinatown and Kosaka Art Gallery in the West Village. This is Canter’s first exhibition with 57W57Arts.