Shana Nys DambrotTheir openings are always on a Wednesday, but in the new version of time and space, your next visit to L.A. Louver Gallery should be Tuesday morning. At 11am Pacific Time on Tuesday, March 3t, the vaunted Venice art emporium goes live on their Instagram with a remote studio visit to the ceramics workshop of gallery artist Matt Wedel.
Although known for his often large-scale and exquisitely, lumpily surreal and art-historically engaged sculptures of alien plant life and terrestrial beings, for the moment Wedel has been re-exploring the less avant-garde history of the pottery traditions he grew up with. He’s been making a series of personable, accessible and affordable — but no less colorful and eccentric — small pots he’s calling “Face Bowls” in a tribute to both the personality of clay and the people we are missing in these times of isolation.
Matt Wedel, Face Bowls (courtesy of the artist and L.A. Louver)
As the artist states, “I love the directness of the pinch pot. They are unencumbered by art which humbles them as objects. When they are held, you can feel the hand of the maker…Similar to a potter, I am in love with the labor of making. It is the exploration of thought through form and the constant search for clarity about the world. Each work is like a puzzle piece to a larger story that is unfolding. They are markers of thought in a process of knowing.”
Tune in Tuesday morning for more of the conversation, and don’t be surprised if it leaves you inspired. For more information, follow the L.A. Louver blog, Instagram and Twitter.
Matt Wedel, Face Bowl (courtesy of the artist and L.A. Louver)
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