Exploring Light(ness) in Ceramics: Studio Visit with Antonella Cimatti


Step into the world of Antonella Cimatti, a renowned ceramicist hailing from the historic town of Faenza, Italy. In this exclusive studio visit, we delve into the heart of her creative process, where traditional craftsmanship meets innovative experimentation.

Antonella's artistic journey is a testament to her relentless pursuit of lightness, both in form and aesthetic. Inspired by creative, aesthetic, and design research, she crafts elegant and refined sculptures that transcend the boundaries of conventional ceramics.

Join us as Antonella takes us through her unconventional process, where every creation is born from a dialogue between past tradition and present innovation. Experience the magic of lightness with Antonella Cimatti in this mesmerizing studio visit and subscribe to our YouTube for an inside look into the world of contemporary ceramic artistry.


Visit Antonella Cimatti's website for more information: CLICK HERE

Ceramics and AI: Tech Fusion with Adam Chau

MoCA/NY's President Judith Schwartz speaks with Adam Chau about his ongoing commitment to embracing innovative technologies into his studio practice. He creatively challenges technology and reimagines images that have satiric and subversive commentary using mechanical brush painting or 'fake' images generated from Artificial Intelligence. His education in industrial design led to his seamless inclusion of technology in his clay works - using 3D clay printing techniques and AI to influence and direct his subject and style. 

Adam Chau has exhibited and lectured internationally and in 2018, he was awarded the NCECA Emerging Artist Fellowship. Chau also hosts a podcast on the Brickyard Network called Trade Secret where he talks with artists, writers, or curators each week to discuss contemporary issues in art, craft, and design.


To explore and learn more about Adam Chau and his work, CLICK HERE

Experimental Ceramics with Cory Brown

MoCA/NY's President Judith Schwartz speaks with Cory Brown about his creative use of new glaze technologies that influence his series of innovative and experimental sculptures. He describes his journey, first as a studio potter that used the Nerikome process - a technique that involves stacking colored clay and slicing through the cross-sections to reveal a pattern - and now uses this technique with experimental glaze and firing techniques for total transformations of form, color, texture and scale. 

Cory Brown received his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and is currently working at Amaco, developing new glazes for an international clientele. Watch our interview with Cory Brown to learn about his motivations, philosophy, liaison with Amaco, and most importantly the processes used to create extraordinarily inventive glazed sculptures that defy gravity.

To explore and learn more about Cory Brown, CLICK HERE.

3-D Clay Printing with Kiichi Takeuchi

  
Ilsy Jeon, creative director and writer at MoCA/NY, speaks with Kiichi Takeuchi about his latest 3-D clay-printed project "Not For Tomato Soup Cup (Global Warming Cup)" and the intersection between ceramics and technology.

 

 

Originally from Japan, Kiichi moved to the US in 1998 to study computer science and has worked as a software developer for more than 23 years. He works at the Long Island University where he also studies ceramic art. At NCECA’s 2023 Conference, Kiichi presented his talk Clay Fab Lab: Scan and Print 3-D in Classroom.

 

IJ: So Kiichi, you have an extensive background in computer science, and I’m curious about your trajectory into developing a ceramic practice. Did 3-D clay printing introduce you to ceramics or did you start with clay building and decide to move towards integrating technology?

Kiichi Takeuchi: The actual answer is yes for both. Somebody just called me a techno potter. I don’t know what that means [laughs], but I started with very, very basic hand-building and wheel throwing. In 2022, the department purchased our first 3-D clay printer in our Craft Center, and I was assigned to lead a study group and research and figure out how it works and make it useful to the classroom. My boss points his finger at me, “You, your computer guy, you take care of this.” Then, the challenge [was to] learn about 3-D clay printers. It's a little bit different from the 3D plastic printer. 

 

IJ: I do love that term—techno potter. What would you say is the major difference between working from hand versus a 3-D printer?

Kiichi Takeuchi: If you look into the perspective of complexity and craftmanship, they [are] actually very similar. 

When people watch those time-lapse videos of the clay printer it looks like magic. However, when you're trying to print by yourself, it's a lot of like manual configuration and all sorts of tricks and techniques I have to learn. Even like cleaning a printing printed nozzle, there is some techniques to it. So in a sense, the 3-D clay printer is a little bit more technical than the electric wheel. However, it still needs a lot of manipulation by artists and that's the room that we can expand the horizon. 

So, [regarding] my work “Not for Tomato Soup Cup” (Global Warming Cup), the spiral shape, that’s all adjustment and trial and error results and I did a lot of experiments. So it’s not like you turn on a button and it’s like magic. It’s not. 

 

IJ: Regarding your piece “Not for Tomato Soup Cup,” you’re referencing the recent controversial protests against global warming where “activists" threw tomato soup at paintings in museums. Why did you reference this in your title?

Kiichi Takeuchi:I usually try not to step into political arguments but here it’s just my honest reaction to the art scene. To explain how I titled the cup, I need to explain my background. So after [studying] computer science, I took Earth Science courses. I pretty much spent the time to study the scientific aspect of global warming and the research, all the lies and the truths in the data. 

And what I wanted to indicate here is, yes, global warming is happening and we have to take action against it and that's a major issue, however, those activists who threw the tomato soup at the masterpiece…that’s a kind of overwhelmed reaction to me.

 

IJ: It's more stirring a spectacle and creating hoopla rather than inviting people to have a genuine and productive conversation?

Kiichi Takeuchi: Exactly. So, to me, that's just like a counter-reaction to put it in the title.

 

IJ: And do you have other 3D printing projects in development?

Kiichi Takeuchi: Yes, I'm going to pitch one idea extending this global warming cup. This is the concept of generating [a] functional cup, so an actual cup that you can generate from abstract to numerical data. These are just numbers. I want to apply the same concept to any data. 

For example, let's say you can quantify music data, like, classical music or jazz. 

So if I print the jazz versus the classical music, how do they look different? Because obviously the classical music has more, let's say variety of instruments versus jazz [which is] composed with, the saxophone, drums, guitar, and piano, very simple. So the frequency distribution in the sound may be different. So that’s what I want to explore.

To learn more and explore Kiichi Takeuchi's works, CLICK HERE.