GERARD MCCARTHY: THE WHITE SHOW
September 16 to October 1, 2016
Curated by Bill Carroll, ceramic sculpture
The exhibition features a selection of ceramic sculpture made in the last two years.
The spatial and temporal ambiguities in Gerard McCarthy’s ceramic works foster exciting associations. They may be viewed as miniature architectural structures alluding to the dynamic qualities of inhabitable buildings, both public and private. Some resemble simple stone houses, or elaborate apartment complexes. In other works, contemplative spaces or gathering places may appear in the guise of celestial observatories or stepped platforms. Although there are no rendered figures here, a human presence is always implied in the works.
Free from the limitations and structural laws of conventional architectural models, McCarthy’s stoneware sculptures are rather anarchic. A unifying element is the application of white terra sigillata an ancient technique of coating the clay in a liquid of suspended clay particles.
Both microcosmic and macrocosmic, these hybrid forms are inspired in equal measure by ancient ruins and modern design, yet are neither nostalgic nor futuristic. Full of contradictions, they are, however, at once dense and airy, idealistic and entropic.
Gerard McCarthy studied at Goldsmiths College, London and the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. He started his curatorial career at The Brooklyn Museum where he first met Bill Carroll and has since organized many exhibitions for non-profit organizations including EFA for which he organized Towards a Society for All Ages: World Artists at the Millennium in 1999 at the United Nations. In addition, he has written numerous catalogue essays as well as articles for various publications including Art in America. He has worked with ceramics for many years and this is his first one-person exhibition.
