We are thrilled to announce Hudson-based ceramic artist R.A. Pesce's upcoming solo exhibition entitled Brutalism vs. Nature opening Saturday, June 17th, 2023. This show will debut over forty works in a number of colorful new glazes alongside Pesce's characteristic monochromatic palette. Two distinct wheel thrown and altered styles by the artist will be on display, what Pesce has aptly named his "Brutalist" and "Elemental" forms. Pesce’s brutalist vessels are angular and geometric, seeming to fuse the abstraction of sculptors such as Henri Laurens or Constantin Brancusi with a deep architectural sensibility. Each piece is, at its foundation, a vessel, and Pesce brings nuance and structural interest to each piece by applying brutalism-inspired motifs.
These brutalist works stand in contrast to his elemental vessels, which capture in clay the flowing and undulating patterns found in such natural phenomena as windswept sand dunes, tornadoes, or whirlpools. These two styles represent opposite but in many ways complementary instincts in Pesce: to explore the complexity and intricacy found in nature AND to explore representing an object in the simplest geometric forms possible. This solo exhibition will juxtapose these two styles in order to explore the relationship and tensions that exist between them.
These brutalist works stand in contrast to his elemental vessels, which capture in clay the flowing and undulating patterns found in such natural phenomena as windswept sand dunes, tornadoes, or whirlpools. These two styles represent opposite but in many ways complementary instincts in Pesce: to explore the complexity and intricacy found in nature AND to explore representing an object in the simplest geometric forms possible. This solo exhibition will juxtapose these two styles in order to explore the relationship and tensions that exist between them.