The Loaded Vessel: Re-contexualizing the Yunomi

Live-streamed: SEPTEMBER 12, 2020.

A discussion between art historian Jenni Sorkin and guest-curators of Here/Now, Nikki Lewis and Katie Queen, on the yunomi form, a Japanese tea vessel. They discuss the romantic associations attached to functional objects in our daily lives, and the ways this simple object has been appreciatively examined, appropriated, elevated, and re-contextualized within the American experience and for contemporary ceramic artists in particular.

Please join art historian Jenni Sorkin and guest-curators of Here/Now, Nikki Lewis and Katie Queen, for a discussion on the yunomi form, a Japanese tea vessel. We will discuss the romantic associations attached to functional objects in our daily lives, and the ways this simple object has been appreciatively examined, appropriated, elevated, and re-contextualized within the American experience and for contemporary ceramic artists in particular.

The talk will be streamed live via Zoom and Facebook. To register for the Zoom Webinar, please click here.

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Jenni Sorkin is Associate Professor of History of Art & Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She writes on the intersections between gender, material culture, and contemporary art, working primarily on women artists and underrepresented media. Her books include Live Form: Women, Ceramics and Community (2016), Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women Artists, 1947-2016 (2016), and the forthcoming Art in California (Thames & Hudson, 2021), as well as numerous essays in journals and exhibition catalogs. She was educated at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, and received her PhD from Yale University. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Modern Craft.

Nikki Lewis is a Los Angeles based artist and educator who has worked in the field of ceramics for over 25 years.  Lewis received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and her MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Lewis is full-time faculty in Ceramics at Mt. San Antonio College and is widely exhibited.  She has lectured on ceramics locally at the American Museum of Ceramic Art and the Beatrice Woods Center and internationally at the Bauhaus University, Germany. 

Katie Queen is a Los Angeles based artist and educator working in clay for the last 25 years.  Queen attended the Kansas City Art Institute and earned a degree in ceramics.  Queen earned her masters degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.  Katie is Associate Professor of Art at Los Angeles Valley College. She also pursues an active studio practice working in both sculptural and functional ceramic works.

You will be able to view the talk on our Facebook page as well. Please email rsvp@craftinamerica.org for any more information about this event or if you are having difficulty registering.

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