Each year, the Carbondale Clay Center selects one national artist to invite for a solo show. This year’s national artist opening reception for “Minimal, Less is More” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on First Friday, June 1st, at the Carbondale Clay Center, 135 Main St. The show will be available for viewing from June 1 - June 29 in the Carbondale Clay Center Gallery.
Tom Jaszcazk’s pottery, inspired by the traditional Minnesota pottery he grew up admiring, is an homage to minimalism. He expertly strikes a balance between modern and traditional styles and creates a body of work that is fundamentally useful and aesthetically pleasing. This approach is carefully reflected in his solo exhibition, “Minimal, Less is More” which will run in the Carbondale Clay Center gallery space from June 1 - June 29.
Originally from Minnesota, Jaszcazk received a BA in Visual Art and a BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Bemidji State University. Jaszcazk was an assistant to both Simon Levin and Tara Wilson. He was a summer resident and a long-term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation. In the fall of 2015 Jaszcazk began a 3 year residency with his wife Maggie Finlayson at Penland School of Crafts. Jaszcazk has received several awards and honors including, a Jerome Projects Grant, Emerging Artist Award at NCECA, Lincoln and Lil Street Fellowship through the Archie Bray Foundation and in the Summer 2014 Jaszcazk was an Honored Maker at the Maker’s Faire at the White House. Jaszcazk exhibits his work at several galleries around the nation, this includes exhibitions at the Holter Museum of Art, Greenwich House Pottery, Trax Gallery, the Pottery Show at the Old Church, Northern Clay Center and Leedy Voulkos Art Center. Jaszcazk’s current body of work is made of red earthenware and is soda fired.
Jaszcazk says about his work that he “[…] wants my work to be pared down to the essentials and be truly useful. The cumulative journey of a pot tells a story and the story brings the user into the moment of making and firing. Slips, trimming lines, finger marks, edges, wad marks and shadows capture a moment in time and tell more of the story. I want my pots to be grounded in form and have an identity as a material…A successful pot has depth through these processes, obtains humbleness through form and thoughtfulness in function”.
For more information, visit www.carbondaleclay.org or call 970-963-2529.