Artist: Rob Fornell
Rob Fornell, WASHINGTON
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ARTIST STATEMENT:
My ceramic journey began in a Minnesota high school from which I pursued a BFA and then an MFA before moving to Japan in the late 80's to work. There, I came into contact with not only a great plethora of superb ceramics, but an amazing food culture, the world of Sado or the Japanese tea ceremony, as well as many manifestations of ikebana, or flower arranging. The ceramics found within these contexts and their associated relationships, informed my work then as it does now with much of the vessel related work I do being more material driven than concept. Over the past 10 years or so, I have focused on works for tea, ie.chawan and mizusashi, as well as shuki, or works for sake and have been trying to move the respective genres forward. Consequently, my Western potter colleagues tend to look at my work as being fairly “Japanese” with my Japanese artist friends viewing it as while being something easy to relate to, in the end it is somewhat “foreign” and sits outside of Japan. While I find labels somewhat challenging, I feel that given my life, which now straddles the two countries, cultures, and languages, I find the space in which my work now resides about right.
I recently returned from a month in Japan and having spent a number of days on the island of Teshima which is in the Inland Sea, I created the pieces for this show. I credit the Teshima Art Museum as an influence, but moreover I came away with the feeling of the people of the island who generously shared their time with me, as well as the sheer beauty of the place in its purity, to be something of a treasure.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
BFA - Summa cum Laude - University of Minnesota
MFA - University of Washington
Japan Residence/Studio - 1989 - 1996
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
The William Traver Gallery - Seattle
The Urasenke Foundation - Seattle
The Parsons School of Design - New York City
The Otis Art Institute – Los Angeles
The Ichikawa Prefectural Museum of Art – Kanazawa
Japan The International Tableware Festival – Tokyo
The Kintetsu/Matsushita Gallery in Takamatsu Japan
The Art Complex Museum – Boston
The Crocker Museum – Sacramento
Urasenke Foundation at Daitokuji – Kyoto Japan
Sanwado Gallery - Tokyo Japan
The International Tea Bowl Festival - Mungeong Korea
Cavin-Morris Gallery - New York
The Stratford Gallery - Stratford England
The Nevica Project – Chicago
Lacoste Gallery – Boston
The Anthony Schaller Gallery - St. Joseph MI
The International Chawan Expo – Belgium
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS:
The Art Complex Museum – Boston
The Crocker Museum – Sacramento
The Alfred University Ceramics Museum - Alfred NY
The Sony Kamm Teapot Collection
GALLERY REPRESENTATION:
The Cavin Morris Gallery – New York
Utsuwakan Gallery – Kyoto Japan
Sanwado Gallery – Tokyo Japan
The Nevica project – Chicago
The Stratford Gallery - Broadmoor England
The Anthony Schaller Gallery - St. Joseph MI
INSTRUCTIONAL EXPERIANCE:
The University of Washington - Seattle WA
Western Washington University - Bellingham WA
Shoreline Community College - Shoreline WA
The Seward Park Clay Studio - Seattle WA
Teaware From the Edge Workshop - NCECA 2012 - Tacoma WA
CURATORIAL ACTIVITES:
Artists for Japan - Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Auction - Bellevue Art Museum - Bellevue WATeaware From the Edge Exhibition - NCECA 2012 - Tacoma WA
Treasures of Japan - The Stratford Gallery - Broadmoor England
Generations - The Stratford Gallery - Broadmoor England