Reception
Saturday, January 23, 3 – 5 PM
In Person, Mask Required
Swell
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”
Chinese Proverb
Mindy Solomon Gallery is pleased to present Swell a two-person exhibition of works by Kiyoshi Kaneshiro and John Gill. Kiyoshi, a 2018 graduate of Alfred University studied under John Gill, a professor at Alfred since 1984. An intense admiration developed and has subsequently resulted in this collaboration.
Looking at each artists’ work proves to be a fascinating dichotomy. Gill’s work is skillful and finely honed. Years of working in the studio has created a mastery of fabrication coupled with a playful control of the form and glazing. Gill is a lover of books and the history of ceramics. A lot of his choices are based on selecting ideas from the canon of the medium. He creates shapes that are whimsical and functional.
Kiyoshi Kaneshiro embodies the next generation of makers. Working in abstraction with “cups” and “vessels” that are not usable in the traditional sense. His surfaces are rough and smooth. Split, fractured and “broken”. Thick blobs of glaze pull in the base of a jar form that can only be viewed by looking inside. Vase forms are closed, orbs for gazing. The contrast between Kiyoshi’s textural works and Gill’s articulated pieces is fascinating. The student clearly loves the master but chooses his own path.
The art world can be a cold place, with each artist and gallery competing for a select group of people inclined to buy art. To see such love and generosity between two artists is heartwarming and meaningful. It shows that creativity in its truest form is about love.
About the Artists
Kiyoshi Kaneshiro (b. 1996, New York) received a BFA from Alfred University (2018). His work has been included in group exhibitions at Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami (2018 & 2019); Anonymous Gallery, Paris (2019) and Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2019). He lives and works in Alfred, New York.
John Gill is a ceramic artist and educator. Gill is a professor of Ceramic Art at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. A member of the Council of the International Academy of Ceramics, he has travelled and lectured throughout the US, Canada and China. His work has been shown at the L.A.County Museum of Art; Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York City; Harvey Meadows Gallery, Aspen; Kraushaar Gallery, New York City; Revolution Gallery, Detroit, Michigan; and Hadler Rodriquez Gallery in New York. Gill’s work is held in the permanent collections of numerous art museums including the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Newark Museum, New Jersey, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gill’s work will be included in the upcoming exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Shapes From Out of Nowhere. His work is featured on the cover of the catalog.
