Clay Pop Los Angeles curated by Alia Dahl opens at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. On Saturday, June 24, 2023, an opening art party was held, however, the exhibition runs through August 12, 2023.

A new generation of artists is reinventing the tradition of ceramic sculpture through its engagement with popular culture. A medium long associated with craft, the world of ceramics has undergone a remarkable transformation evolving into an exciting platform for both formal as well as conceptual innovation.

Jeffrey Deitch

About Clay Pop Los Angeles

Clay Pop Los Angeles expands on the 2021 New York exhibition and the book of the same title published by Rizzoli. This group exhibition features thirty-two artists, most of whom work on the West Coast. “Artists are taking a traditional medium and turning it on its head,” says the exhibition curator Alia Dahl.

Paralleling current concerns in painting, many of the artists featured in Clay Pop Los Angeles are exploring issues of gender, race and identity, using clay in new ways to engage with social issues. Clay is also pushed beyond the confines of craft and design through artists using the medium to create a personal narrative. Ceramic sculpture has a long tradition on the West Coast, especially in Northern and Southern California.

History

While an earlier generation of ceramic artists is referenced, the range of influences encompasses everyday commercial imagery. This includes counterculture, along with artistic sources from African American assemblage to Walt Disney. Much of the new work is exuberant and figurative, expanding on how the medium of clay has been traditionally used. Glazes are especially colorful. Funk art from 1970s Northern California is a source, as is Claes Oldenburg’s store. Some of the artists also draw on artistic influences from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The exhibition design by Charlap Hyman & Herrero continues the successful collaboration initiated in New York.

Clay Pop Book

Copies of the book Clay Pop will be available at des pair bookstore located in the gallery. The publication, designed by POLYMODE, features thirty-eight artist portfolios and is accompanied by an essay by Michael Lobel, a scholar of Pop Art and professor at City University of New York.

The artists participating in Clay Pop Los Angeles include: Diana Yesenia Alvarado, Alex Anderson, Alex Becerra, Genesis Belanger, Seth Bogart, Kenturah Davis, Woody De Othello, Sharif Farrag, Ryan Flores, Joel Gaitan, Melvino Garretti, Lizette Hernandez, Stephanie Temma Hier, Sydnie Jimenez, Grant Levy-Lucero, Candice Lin, Jasmine Little, Amelia Lockwood, Jiha Moon, Ruby Neri, Maija Peeples-Bright, Brian Rochefort, Jennifer Rochlin, Brie Ruais, Stephanie H. Shih, Alake Shilling, Peter Shire, Christopher Suarez, Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Amia Yokoyama, Maryam Yousif, and Bari Ziperstein.

CLICK HERE to find out about past additional exhibitions at this gallery.

On view: June 24, 2023 – August 12, 2023

What: Clay Pop Los Angeles
Where: Jeffrey Deitch, 7000 Santa Monica Boulevard, corner of North Orange Drive, LA, (2nd gallery)
When: Running through August 12, 2023
Website: http://deitch.com