"Around the Campfire" at Artworks, Trenton

Around the Campfire:
A show of ceramic work at Artworks, Trenton

Much of the work in Around the Campfire is installation-based and employs mixed media as well as clay. The exhibition both pays homage to Trenton’s rich industrial history as home to dozens of commercial potteries in the 19 th century, and charts a path into the future of creative ceramics in the 21 st.

Around the Campfire has been planned to coincide with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts annual conference, taking place this year in Philadelphia. The show will be on view March 6 through April 17at Artworks’ main gallery in downtown Trenton.

“In the big picture realm of design and architecture, I wanted tofind out what clay artists were thinking,” says Reichard, curator of the show as well as a participant. “The title refers to playing house with friends in the ‘wilderness’ and re-enacting a way of lifethat’s decidedly more survivalist than ours is now. The playful aspect of the campfire is that you start from scratch, but with a goal and a set of parameters,” much like the artists in the show, she says.

Campfires are comforting, but in the wilderness, as the sole source of warmth and cooking heat, they distill our needs and desires downto what is really important, Reichard says. “The artists in this show have decided what’s important, and their objects are the telling excerpts of their complete worldview.”

There will be a public reception on Saturday, March 6, from 6 to 9 p.m. with music by the band "WINDJAMMER," featuring Andrew Weiss, who has either been a member of or worked with the Rollins Band, Ween, Yoko Ono, Pigface and Café’ Tacuba among others.