Stoneware & Porcelain Ceramics By Two Friends At Westover

MIDDLEBURY — An exhibit of stoneware and porcelain ceramics, “Mathilde Hungerford and Robin Johnson: Two Friends,” will be shown at the Schumacher Gallery at Westover School from October 5 through November 29. The public is invited to a reception for the artists on Sunday, October 5, from 3 to 5 pm.

Having both taught at Westover School, Ms Johnson and Ms Hungerford met each other and became friends through firing their work together. Both artists have been influenced by Asian ceramics and their work reflects two approaches of the aesthetics of ceramics from China, Japan and Korea. Ms

Johnson is intrigued by early Neolithic ceramics from Asia which she infused with a Zen-like quality, while Ms Hungerford is fascinated by porcelain vessels with intricate carving and raised relief forms.

“Sculpture retaining the vessel form” is how Ms Johnson describes her work, which she creates through a combination of wheel and handbuilding techniques. In her ceramics she aspires to capture the forms, textures and sense of timelessness found in nature. Many of her pieces are earthen-colored, with rich color variations provided by flashing created in a wood kiln which is fired for eight days.

“I first search for the essence of the problem and the simpler solution, the more powerful,” Ms Johnson says.

Robin Johnson received her Masters of Arts from Columbia University, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and taken workshops and classes with master potters. She is a frequent speaker and workshop educator, and illustrations of her ceramics have been included in The Best of Ceramic Art, published in 1996, Best of Pottery in 1997, and Ceramics Monthly. A three-time recipient of the prestigious Excellence in Clay award, granted by the Society of CT Crafts, her work is in the permanent collection of the Yale University Art Gallery.

Mathilde Hungerford describes her work as functional, and focuses on the connection between form and use, and the fine craftsmanship needed to create “teapots that pour well, jar lids that fit precisely, and handles that are well balanced.”

She works in both stoneware and porcelain clays, and finishes her pieces with the decorative techniques of carving, painting and sgraffito of forms found in nature.

Ms Hungerford received a Bachelor of Fine Arts at West Surrey College of Art and Design in West Surrey, England, and was influenced there by Japanese ceramic traditions brought back by master potter Bernard Leach.

Since returning to the States, she has taken workshops and classes with master potters who have continued and expanded on the functional pottery tradition started by Leach.  She has taught ceramics at Westover School, Brookfield Craft Center and Washington Art Association.

Her work has been exhibited at Brookfield Craft Center; State House Gift Shop, Hartford; Mattatuck Museum Gift Shop, Waterbury; Gibson Gallery, White Sulphur Springs, W.V.; Atelier Gallery, Mystic; and Christie Gallery, Lewisburg, W.V.

In addition to the opening reception on October 5, the exhibit may be viewed Monday through Friday from noon to 5 pm. The Schumacher Gallery is located in Westover’s Performing Arts Center and is accessible from the school’s main entrance opposite the green (Whittemore Street/Route 188) in Middlebury.

Further information is available by contacting gallery director Michael Gallagher  at 203-577-4525 or MGallagher@WestoverSchool.org. Visitors to the gallery are requested to check in at the school’s front office.