GEOMORPHIC MUSINGS   
Ceramic Sculpture by Mark Gordon

Wed. 3/17/2010
through
Sun. 4/18/2010

Opening Reception and Gallery Talk/Slide Lecture by
Mark Gordon, 3/24/2010 @ 7 pm

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Gordon serves as an associate professor of art at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., where he has taught in the art department since 1999. Gordon has presented over 100 lectures and workshops in 19 states and seven foreign countries. He has been recognized with numerous awards and grants. He has held numerous art residencies across the nation as well as in Caracas, Venezuela; Cairo, Egypt; Madrid, Spain; Jerusalem, Israel; and La Romana, Dominican Republic.  Gordon was a Fulbright Lecturer at the Facultad de Artes, Universidad Nacional in Obera, Argentina in 1991.

It is a blend of curiosity and creativity that Mark Gordon brings into his classroom.  He believes that within the academic community, an art program fulfills a vital role in promoting visual literacy while fostering creative exploration and challenging students to question the way the world presents itself to them.  

“The physicality of clay, along with its remarkable ability to freeze action and respond to physical impact or retain any fleeting impression, immediately and permanently captured my interest.   Clay is a universal medium: potters’ vessels have formed an essential part of material culture.  My work explores inherent properties of clay transformed through the kiln’s incandescent energy. I approach claywork as the creation, pulling form out of inchoate matter, as an ongoing experiment in seeking new direction through variation.   Often, in the vessels, Greek or Chinese forms seem to be echoed in my clay shapes.   In contrast, the non-vessel ceramic pieces may refer to architectural fragments, combined geometries, or biomorphic shapes.

When students engage in the challenge of studying art history and creating their own artwork, they harness the use of imagination, aesthetics, chemistry, coordination, and intellect.  And, when a student’s interests extend to connect science, mathematics, social studies, and reading with the traditional realm of visual art, the opportunity for guided cross-disciplinary research helps a student develop a deeper understanding of all subjects.”
                                                                                                        -- Mark Gordon

To see more of his works, please visit http://www.markgordon.com/

Gallery hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday
Receptions for all shows are at 7 p.m.

All exhibits are free and open to the public.  The Traveling Exhibitions Gallery is located on the north side of the Seby Jones Performing Arts Center (JPAC). For more information, such as possible weekend or evening tours of an exhibition, please call Will Hinton, Professor of Art, (919) 497-3238 or e-mail whinton@louisburg.edu.