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CHANDLER: Ceramics scene is all fired up

Phillips Gallery leads trove of exhibits in metro area by artists working in clay

By Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 23, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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Don Reitz's 2007 wood-fired untitled coil sculpture.

Don Reitz's 2007 wood-fired untitled coil sculpture.

Martha Daniels' 2008 Rose Red Unfolding Teabowl.

Martha Daniels' 2008 Rose Red Unfolding Teabowl.

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Despite the strong ceramics community in the metro area, Foothills Art Center's biennial "Colorado Clay" is the only consistent exhibition devoted to that medium.

But this fall, several galleries have turned their attention there, augmenting the continuing (and smart) presence of Plinth Gallery in the city's RiNo arts district. An opportunity to see vessels by veteran ceramists and innovators Nan and Jim McKinnell, Japanese master Takashi Nakazato and glaze wizard Tom Turner helps satisfy the hunger for clay.

But in terms of showcasing ceramic sculpture, that honor goes to Sandra Phillips Gallery, where work by Don Reitz, Martha Daniels and Maynard Tischler is on view in "Three on Fire."

These three are practitioners of the highest order: Reitz, who lives in Arizona; Daniels, a longtime Denver artist who recently moved to New Mexico; and Tischler, a Denver-based educator and artist who has worked not only in innovative sculptural forms but also in tapestries (which also find a home in this show).

Reitz, renowned for his experiments in salt-firing and wood-firing, is represented here by almost a dozen abstracted works that demonstrate his ability to add elements to sculptural or vessel-like forms. With rich, dark surfaces, they offer an opportunity to view work that is constructed with an eye toward balancing technical mastery with aesthetic intent.

For this exhibition, Daniels created new objects, including a set of what she calls unfolding tea bowl sculptures, a new glazed and gilded tower, and a figural piece, Pomona, that recalls large-scale works such as Red Nike.

The tea bowls stand out for their sense of innovative construction and their organic shapes, while Daniels reaffirms her eye for color in her use of vibrant glazes and paint. And Pomona is a study in elegance, a lithe goddess that confirms Daniels' understanding of expression and allusion in form.

Longtime University of Denver ceramics professor Tischler is a stalwart of the clay community, here with works that include reference to his series of vehicles. But what vehicles: This Is Not a Model, from 2004, is a large, fully formed and detailed tank, augmented by a similar piece that Tischler blew up out in the woods. The video from that event is part of the show, as are remnants of the work, Land Mine Explosion, which assumed a new identity because of the artists' desire to experiment.

It's good that Tischler spared the wool tapestries hanging here from the same investigation into deconstruction. The three beautifully rendered textiles from the 1970s offer views of a train, wildlife at the Nile River and a truck hauling produce. As usual, the artist is helping us keep an eye on movement and the world around us.

Mary Chandler is the art and architecture critic. chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

Three on Fire

* What: Sculptural ceramics by Martha Daniels, Don Reitz and Maynard Tischler

* Where and when: Sandra Phillips Gallery, 744 Santa Fe Drive; through Nov. 8

* Of note: The film Don Reitz: Art and the Search for Truth will be shown at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at the gallery

* Information: 303-573-5969; thesandraphillipsgallery.com