A Midwestern Retrospective : Richard Gruchalla & Carrin Rosetti
On view 18 June - 16 September 2018 on the Second Level

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A MIDWESTERN RETROSPECTIVE

For 25 years, Richard Gruchalla and Carrin Rosetti have collaborated to create many of the most eye-catching, memorable, and theme appropriate works in The Rourke's annual Midwestern exhibition. Normally, the viewer experiences their entries in the context of the group exhibit—one at a time. This exhibit brings nearly all of their numerous Midwestern efforts together and it is something truly wonderful to behold. Hints at their creative process is also revealed in a series of short narratives accompanying each piece

ARTISTS STATEMENT

"We are a husband and wife collaborative team. Ideas are shared; each of us brings different skills into the process of creating our work. Carrin started out as a fiber artist—a tapestry weaver. She came into the pottery studio with her sense for color and surface arrangement more than twenty years ago. Richard’s career of forty-seven plus years has been as a studio potter, first making functional stoneware and porcelain in the Leach-Hamada tradition, and now working exclusively in raku.

Our pottery is, before all else, a statement of form. We look first for the silhouette of the piece; the lift from the surface, the graceful extension from the foot to the belly into the curve of the body, the strength of the shoulder, the grace of the neck, and finally the finish of the lip. All the parts are connected, and all the parts should be cohesive.
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We call our style of work ‘American Raku’ to distinguish it from the original Japanese style of fast-firing and quick-cooling raku (the Japanese did not put their rake through the smoking part of the firing.) We do, however, try to follow the example of Donyu, the third in line of rake masters, who was noted for his innovation in the use of the raku process. We hope to continue with our innovation of this technique to produce work that will add to the library of contemporary American ceramics."