Artist: Benjamin Cirgin
Benjamin Cirgin, KENTUCKY
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I position myself (out of necessity and curiosity) as an active participant in the
consumption of domestic objects, built environments, and a member of the working
class community to present an alternative engagement with the objects and processes that I find simultaneously confusing and mesmerizing. My primary purpose as a maker is to generate questions rather than taking a position that provides answers. With this approach I move through the world vacillating between my skepticism of human intention, and being captivated by the intricate forming processes found in consumer driven systems of objects. Through constant negotiations within the urban setting and the people that inhabit those places with me, I construct unlikely sculptures, create unconventional functional pottery, and arrange objects, words, and ideas that disrupt the expected commodity object and the spaces they inhabit.
Benjamin Cirgin (b.1979) is a maker and educator who worked as a craftsman building furniture and renovating historic homes before earning his BFA in ceramics and sculpture from Indiana University Bloomington, and his MFA in studio art from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, California. Benjamin’s work has representation in galleries across the country, and has received numerous awards and grants in the field of art and craft. He also serves an advising board member for the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts residency program, active member of the Artist and Scientist collective, and co-founded the artist collective One + One + Two; four professional artists aiming to strengthen the San Francisco Bay Area arts community and beyond, providing short term residency opportunities and public programing. Benjamin is currently an instructor, artist in residence, and studio technician at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
EDUCATION
2016 Master of Fine Art, Mixed Media/Ceramics/Sculpture California College of the Arts San Francisco, California
2013 Bachelor of Fine Art, Ceramics Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2019 Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond Kentucky Assistant Professor of Ceramics, Ceramics Area Head Hand Building I, Wheel Throwing I and II, 3D Design
2018 Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond Kentucky Assistant Professor of Ceramics, Ceramics Area Head Hand Building I, Wheel Throwing I and II, 3D Design
2017 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Arkansas Instructor – Foundations Creative Thinking, Foundations Form and Space, Ceramic Slip Casting and Mold Making, 2/2
2017 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Arkansas Instructor – Undergraduate Hand Building, Technical Ceramics, Graduate Level Seminar, 3/2
2016 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Arkansas Instructor – Foundations and Ceramics, 2/2
2016 Mills College, Oakland California Artist Lecture and Instructor
California College of the Arts, Oakland California Lecture and Graduate Instructor Assistant, 1/1
2015 California College of the Arts Lecture and Graduate Instructor Assistant,
Wolf Creek Pottery: Watkinsville, Georgia Artist Lecture and Workshop Instructor
2014 California College of the Arts Lecture and Graduate Instructor Assistant,
2013 Bloomington Clay Studio, Bloomington Indiana Wood Firing Workshop, Functional Pottery Instructor
2012 Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana Teaching Assistant, Malcolm Mobutu Smith
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
2019 Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota NCECA Annual Exhibition, Contemporary Ceramic Sculptural Abstraction
2018 Small Change Gallery, San Francisco California ONE + ONE + TWO-Collaborative Exhibition, Currency
AKAR Design, Iowa City Iowa Yunomi Invitational
University of the Ozarks, Clarksville Arkansas Group Exhibition, Constructed Landscape
Little Berlin, Philadelphia Pennsylvania Group Exhibition, A Home is What is Home
Companion Gallery, Humbolt Tennessee Invited Artist, Last Call III
Belger Crane Yard, Kansas City Missouri Gallery Representation
2017 Belger Crane Yard, Kansas City Missouri Gallery Representation
Lillstreet Art Center Gallery, Chicago Illinois Solo Exhibition, Work-Around
AKAR Design, Iowa City Iowa Yunomi Invitational
Belger Crane Yard, Kansas City Missouri Group Exhibition, A Hard Swath To Mow
Lillstreet Art Center Gallery, Chicago, Illinois Gallery Representation
Companion Gallery, Humbolt Tennessee Solo Exhibition, Uncertain Image
CFile Online Group Exhibition, Santa Fe New Mexico Electric Eve
2016 Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston Massachusetts Our Cups Runneth Over
Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge Massachusetts Redefining the Vessel
Charlie Cummings Gallery, Chapel Hill North Carolina The Intimate Object XII
AKAR Design, Iowa City Iowa Yunomi Invitational
California College of the Arts, San Francisco California
Antithesis, Thesis, Synthesis Exhibition
Minnesota Street Projects Gallery, San Francisco California MFA Thesis Exhibition
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona California Lineage Mentorship & Learning
IPW Gallery, Oakland CA Many Fingers Group Exhibition
2015 CFile Solo Online Exhibition, Santa Fe New Mexico Electric Eve
Isabelle Percy West Gallery, Oakland California CCA Ceramics Group Exhibition
NCECA Juried Cups Show, Rhode Island Merit Award
California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art, Davis California, CCA Group Exhibition
AKAR Design, Iowa City Iowa Yunomi Invitational
2014 Gallery 360, Minneapolis Minnesota Electric Shaped Light
AKAR Design, Iowa City Iowa Yunomi Invitational
Sub Rosa Gallery, Bloomington Indiana Gallery Representation
2013 I Fell Gallery, Bloomington Indiana Across The Line: Benjamin Cirgin/Elizabeth Pechacek,
KC Clay Guild, Kansas City Missouri Tea Bowl National
The Art League, Alexandria Virginia Table Top, Juried Exhibition
Lillstreet Art Center Gallery, Chicago, Illinois Gallery Representation
2012 Grunwald Gallery Of Art, Bloomington Indiana BFA Thesis Exhibition NCECA Juried Cups Show, Seattle Washington Merit Award
Terra Incognito, Chicago Illinois Coffee, Tea, or?
Grunwald Gallery Of Art, Bloomington Indiana Fine Arts Area Show
2011 Fuller Projects, Bloomington Indiana
Co-Curated With Lauren Kuester Confliction Within Containment: 24 BFA Students
Sofa Gallery, Bloomington Indiana Fine Arts Area Show
Lillstreet Arts Center Gallery, Chicago, Illinois Juried Exhibition
2010 Bloomington Clay Studio, Bloomington Indiana Home Cooked
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2018 Eastern Kentucky University. Richmond Kentucky Ceramics Area Head / Environmental Health and Safety Committee / Strategic Planning Committee
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Arkansas Resident Artist / Studio Technician / VAP Hiring Committee / Environmental Health and Safety Committee/ Foundations Committee / MFA Thesis Committee
+One Artist Residency: Co- Founding Member and Officer San Francisco, California
One + Two Critique Group: Coordinator and Community Outreach - San Francisco, California
Watershed Center for The Ceramic Arts, Maine Advisory Board Member/ Programs Committee
2017 Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science, and the Arts Hotsprings, Arkansas Visiting Artist / Lecture / Demonstrations
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Arkansas Resident Artist / Studio Technician / Hiring Committee / Environmental Health and Safety Committee/ Foundations Committee / MFA Thesis Committee
One + One + Two Collective: Founding Member San Francisco, California
+One Artist Residency: Co- Founding Member and Officer San Francisco, California
One + Two Critique Group: Coordinator and Community Outreach - San Francisco, California
Watershed Center for The Ceramic Arts, Maine Advisory Board Member/ Programs Committee
2016 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Arkansas Resident Artist / Studio Technician / Hiring Committee
One + One + Two Collective: Founding Member San Francisco, California
Watershed Center For The Ceramic Arts, Maine Advisory Board Member
California College of the Arts, Oakland California Ceramic Studio Technician
California College of the Arts, San Francisco California Preparator, Thesis Exhibition
Studio Assistant, Nathan Lynch Oakland CA
2015 California College of the Arts, Oakland California Ceramic Studio Technician
California College of the Arts, San Francisco California Preparator, Thesis Exhibitions
California College of the Arts, San Francisco California Installation Coordinator and Preparator, Undergraduate Exhibitions
Studio Assistant, Nathan Lynch Oakland CA
2014 Grunwald Gallery of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington Installation Coordinator
2013 Grunwald Gallery of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington Installation Coordinator
Bloomington Clay Studio, Bloomington Indiana Assistant Studio Manger/Ceramic Studio Technician
2012 Grunwald Gallery of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington Installation Coordinator
Bloomington Clay Studio, Bloomington Indiana Assistant Studio Manger/Ceramic Studio Technician
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Tennessee Workshop Assistant, Phil Harlam
2008- 2011 Bloomington Clay Studio, Bloomington Indiana Ceramic Studio Technician
2003 - 2010 Simply Beautiful Restorations, Bloomington Indiana Residential Design and Renovations, Owner
GRANTS | AWARDS
2016 Southern Exposure: Alternative Exposure Grant Awardee
California College of the Arts- Headlands Resident Nominee, Lewis Award Nominee, Graduate Merit Scholarship George B. Saxe Scholarship
2015 California College of the Arts- Graduate Merit Scholarship
California College of the Arts – George B. Saxe Scholarship NCECA Juried Cups Show: Merit Award, Rhode Island
2014 California College of the Arts- Graduate Merit Scholarship
California College of the Arts – George B. Saxe Scholarship
2013 Tea Bowl National- KC Clay Guild, Kansas: 2nd Place
Windgate Fellowship Nominee: Indiana University Fine Art Tabletop, Juried Exhibition, The Art League, Virginia Honorable Mention
2012 NCECA Juried Cups Show: Merit Award, Seattle Washington
Purchase Prize Award: Terra Incognito, Chicago, Illinois Dean's Award: Grunwald Gallery of Art, Bloomington IN
PUBLICATIONS | COLLECTIONS
2018 Berger Collection, Florida
Companion Gallery: Last Call III, Exhibition Catalogue
2016 CFile – “15 Potters To Watch In 2016”, Online Publication, Santa Fe,
New Mexico Web- cfileonline.org/contemporary-pottery-to-watch-in-2016/ Glossary Magazine: Art Reviews, online publication, San Francisco California
Web- glossarymagazine.com/art-reviews/review-as-pictures-and-critique-preview- party-minnesota-street-project
2015 Irving and Jackie Blum, Private Collection- Los Angeles, CA
2013 Permanent Collection: Indiana University, Vice Provost Office
2012 Canvas Creative Magazine, Bloomington Indiana
Web- issuu.com/ubcanvas/docs/canvas_spring_2012