New Works in Clay

The Everson has a long history of working with important contemporary artists. Over the last 58 years, the Everson has produced solo exhibitions for Yoko Ono, Morris Louis, Joan Mitchell, Bill Viola, William Wegman, Carrie Mae Weems, and a host of artists who loom large on the world stage. No exhibition in the Everson’s history can compare to New Works in Clay by Contemporary Painters and Sculptors, a 1976 exhibition that involved bringing well-known painters and sculptors to Syracuse to produce a body of work in ceramics. The project was the brainchild of Margie Hughto, who served as both a professor at Syracuse University and as a curator at the Everson. The Museum and the University shared a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to transform an old can factory into a working ceramics studio. Beginning in 1975, Hughto hosted artists like Helen Frankenthaler, Larry Poons, Anthony Caro, and Billy Al Bengston at the studio. Each artist was given a team of assistants, as well as access to technical advice from veteran ceramic artists. This flurry of activity resulted in the landmark 1976 exhibition New Works in Clay by Contemporary Painters and Sculptors. For the first time in 50 years, the Everson will bring together ceramic works by the original 11 participants, as well as works by artists like Kenneth Noland and Mary Frank who participated in subsequent projects in 1978 and 1981. Five decades later, it is not unusual for clay to be a part of an artist’s repertoire. New Works in Clay explores how the Everson broke down barriers between art and craft and set the stage for the current ceramic renaissance in the art world.