For Immediate Release For Further Information, please contact: Pamela Siemon 203.263.3449

reFORMations: NEW FORMS FROM ANCIENT TECHNIQUES

Woodbury, CT - Fenn Gallery announces “reFORMations; New Forms from Ancient Techniques”, an exhibition of contemporary interpretations in fiber art by Paula Renee and ceramic sculpture by Robin Johnson. The show runs from Sept. 20 - Oct. 29, 2006. The Artist Reception will be from 4-6 pm on Saturday, Sept. 23rd, and is open to the public.

Robin Johnson aspires to timelessness in her forms which transcend those of conventional ceramics. Wood firing her work in the ancient Japanese tradition, her shapes celebrate the elegance in the elemental; some are inspired by nature - a hornet's nest, sea-worn shell fragments, rippled sand. Other forms recall ancient vessels or tools: an early Chinese bronze bell, simple spade, or bowl used in Japanese tea ceremony. The bowl shape, Johnson reminds us, closely resembles the vessel from which man first drank: a cupped pair of hands. The surfaces are earthy and nubby, with minimal glazing. Often, Johnson relies only on the flashing created in wood firing for rich color variations reminiscent of shadows in her pieces. “Inner Shell” suggests a large, inverted seashell. It’s earthy-toned outer shell is gritty, while it’s smooth, unglazed interior radiates a beautiful color range from salmon to garnet to slate gray.

Johnson received her MA from Columbia University. She is a frequent speaker and workshop educator, and illustrations of her ceramics have been included in “The Best of Ceramic Art”, published in 1996, and “Best of Pottery” in 1997. A three-time recipient of the prestigious Excellence in Clay award, granted by the Society of CT Crafts, her work is in the permanent collection of the Yale University Art Gallery.

Recognized by New York Times writer Betty Freudenheim as one of the nation's 15 most innovative fiber artists, Paula Renee employs ancient knotting techniques in her work to create imaginative and colorful abstract compositions. This exhibit includes her fiber art, along with a selection of tapestries hand woven of wool, linen, cotton, rayon, silk and sometimes metallic fibers. Cosmogony is a dramatic hand woven tapestry comprised of a variegated black background framing a white whirling spiral composition punctuated with small crystals.

Renee is a visionary in her medium; her work is colorful, well composed and invites the viewer to consider fiber art with fresh eyes. Her work is in more than 50 public collections, museums and has been featured in more than 30 publications, including Fiber Arts magazine.