{"id":91730,"date":"2025-03-27T11:36:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T18:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=91730"},"modified":"2025-03-30T10:30:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T17:30:32","slug":"formation-in-full-force-a-labyrinth-of-clay-at-ncecas-salt-palace-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/formation-in-full-force-a-labyrinth-of-clay-at-ncecas-salt-palace-takeover\/","title":{"rendered":"Formation in Full Force: A Labyrinth of Clay at NCECA\u2019s Salt Palace Takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A

Installation view of Clay Arts Utah at the Salt Palace Convention Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

NCECA appears to have taken over every available meter of Utah exhibition space in order to accompany Formation, <\/i>their 2025 annual conference. The only venues they appear to have missed were those belonging to organizations, like the Nora Eccles Harrison MoA, that have their own invaluable ceramic art collections showing instead. If this sounds like a complaint, I can only reply that I\u2019ve been waiting for about 50 years to see clay get this richly-deserved and long overdue attention.<\/h4>\n

As Formation<\/i> approaches its climax, however, events have begun to come so close together in time that there\u2019s a danger of missing something important. The promised environmental show, which has more to do with the technology of acquiring materials, the use of energy for firing clay, and even the underlying ergonomics of gathering for an international conference, acquired a last-minute aesthetic surge from the inclusion of its witty poster image of an ornamental toilet (except for that gold one, they\u2019re all made of clay) that moved its message to the front of the line. But what about some other shows, the ones NCECA designated to fill the small exhibition halls in the Salt Palace during the actual conference? The ones where the covetable beauties we\u2019ve been staring at since at least January are finally for sale? We at 15 Bytes felt we ought to take a look at those as well.<\/h4>\n

Proceeding from the main entrance, it takes a bit of faith to keep following the signs, which are plentiful and accurate, but seem to lead on and on through the labyrinthine convention center, to the northwest corner where the small halls are clustered. The first one, Rooms 257 A-B, houses Clay Arts Utah<\/em>, about as comprehensive a showing of the subject as might be expected given the demands of so many hungry venues, and which was assembled by Dawn Atkin, whose own work demonstrates a winning combination of both originality and strong design. \u201cComprehensive\u201d has a particular meaning here, since the display includes a spiral-centered platter by Joe Bennion, a stalwart figure in Utah arts who is currently fighting for his livelihood and reputation against a \u201cSatanic Panic\u201d<\/a> attack all the way from Florida. Joe\u2019s platter asks \u201cTell me what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life …\u201d The answer that audibly surrounds it here would clearly be some variation on \u201cGet Muddy.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\"A

Installation view of Clay Arts Utah at the Salt Palace Convention Center.<\/p><\/div>\n