About Jennifer McCurdy

Artist Statement

       Andre Gide says, "Pay attention only to the form; emotion will come spontaneously to inhabit it. A perfect dwelling always finds an inhabitant."
        Emotion fills me when I see perfect forms in nature, from the cracked conch shell on the beach revealing its perfect spiral, to the milkweed pod burst in the field, its brilliant airborne seeds streaming into the sunlight. The ordered symmetry and asymmetry of nature's forms reveal the growth of life, the movement of life.
        Living on Martha's Vineyard, island time, especially in the winter, seems to conform to nature's cycles. As a potter, I strive to make my work reflect the balance of life around me. It is important that the patterns I see around me are integrated into my forms.
       I use a translucent porcelain body because it has a beautiful surface, and it conveys the qualities of light and shadow that I wish to express. After throwing my vessel on the potter's wheel, I alter the form to set up a movement of soft shadow. When the porcelain is leather hard, I carve patterns to add energy and counterpoint. I fire my work to cone 10, where the porcelain becomes non-porous and translucent.
        Some of the finished pieces hold elusive glimpses of the balance between the convex and the concave, and light absorbed and reflected. In further exploration, I marry the fine porcelain with the ancient art of gilding. The 23 carat gold leaf illumines the interior of the vessel, to reveal new curves and patterns.

Artist Statement

Education

1978, B.F.A. with honors, Michigan State University,
studied under Louis Raynor
1980, Graduate study, Florida Atlantic University,
studied under John McCoy

Museum Permanent Collections

The Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, Washington DC
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Museum of Art & Archeology, Columbia, MO
Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
Weisman Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Lowe Art Museum, Miami, FL
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA

Select Galleries

Armstrong's Gallery, Pomona, CA
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
Bellevue Museum Shop, Bellevue, WA
LaFontsee Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
Phillips Collection Museum Shop, Washington, DC
Plinth Gallery, Denver, CO
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
Shaw Cramer Gallery, Vineyard Haven, MA
Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, OH
The Future Perfect, Brooklyn, NY

Publications

Vineyard Style, US, Spring 2011
                “Jennifer McCurdy-The Porcelain Sorceress”
Sunshine Artist, US, January 2011 “Spirals & Spheres”
Clay Times, US, July/August 2008,
“Defying Gravity: Jennifer McCurdy’s
Carved & Pierced Porcelain”
Ceramic Review, UK, Sept/Oct 2010, “An Island Aesthetic”
El Beit, Egypt, Summer 2010, “Jennifer Fe Daerat Elfan”
China Ceramics Illustrated, China, July 2010,
“Jennifer McCurdy: The Cutting Edge of Porcelain”
“500 Vases”, Lark Books, 2011
“Ceramics Today” book published by Schiffer LTD, 2010
“The Best of 500 Ceramics”, Lark Books, 2012

Select Exhibitions

2012-2004, American Craft Council Show, Baltimore, MD
2012-2007, 2005, American Craft Exposition, Evanston, Ill
2012-2010, 2008-2006, Philadelphia Museum Craft Show, Phila, PA
2012-2006, Washington Craft Show, Washington DC
2012-2006, Palm Beach Fine Craft Show, West Palm Beach, FL
2012-2011, 2007-2006, Cherry Creek Art Festival, Denver CO
2012-2011, 2009-2006, Westchester Craft Show, White Plains, NY
2012-2011, American Craft Council Show, St. Paul, MN
2012, American Craft Council Show, San Francisco, CA
2012, Art on the Square, Belleville, IL
2012, Bellevue Arts Museum Arts Fair, Bellevue, WA
2012-2008, 2001, Craft Forms, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2011, Solo Exhibition, Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, OH
2011, Alchemy: From Dust to Form exhibition, Harn Museum,
          University of Florida, FL
2011, Not So Still Life exhibition, Racine Art Museum, WI
2011, Santa Fe Clay “Inhabited Porcelain”, Santa Fe, NM
2011-2007, Old Town Art Festival, Chicago, IL
2011-2010, American Craft Council Show, Atlanta, GA
2011, 2007-2006, Lakefront Festival of Arts, Milwaukee, IL
2010-2008, Long’s Park Art Festival, Lancaster, PA
2010-2009, St. Louis Arts Festival, St. Louis, MO
2009, Fragiles: Porcelain, Glass & Ceramics, Kuwait
2008-2007, Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington DC
2008, The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum,
Rococo: the Continuing Curve, NYC
2008-2007, 2005, Crafts Boston, Boston, MA
2007, Fuller Craft Museum, Member Exhibition, Brockton, MA
2006, Crafts National 2006, Lancaster Museum, Lancaster, PA
2004, Particles & Passion, Art of Clay, Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD
2004-2003, Boca Raton Museum Art Festival, Boca Raton, FL
2004-2001, Winter Park Arts Festival, Winter Park, FL
2004-1993, Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, FL
2002-2001, 1995-1990, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa, FL
1995-1992, Disney’s Festival of the Masters, Orlando, FL

 

Teaching Experience

2008-2013, Select Workshops
1995-2003, Instructor, Featherstone Meetinghouse, Oak Bluffs, MA
1993-2004, Participating Artist, Coconut Grove Visiting Artists Program, Miami, FL
1998-2002, Artist in Residence, Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School
1995-1999, Instructor, Chilmark Pottery, Chilmark, MA

Professional Affiliations

American Crafts Council
Featherstone Meetinghouse of the Arts
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts
Massachusetts Cultural Council, 2007 Finalist
Potter's Council
Niche Award Winner, 2012

Artist Resume

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