Aug. 25 marked the beginning of the 2016-2017 exhibition season at the L.H. Horton Jr. Gallery.
The Horton Gallery is a visual arts exhibition program located on the first floor of the Shima building.
“I come to the reception, to look around…I like how everything is laid out, very organized. I like all the art pieces that the gallery has in here,” said Emily Coston, a Delta College student and a frequent visitor to the art gallery. “I like that one with the skeletons and butterflies because it represented the migration of the butterfly and the issues with people planting the wrong type of milkweed.”
The Visions in Clay Exhibition and Awards Competition is the first show of the school year.
This is the seventh year Visions in Clay has opened the exhibit season in the gallery.
Visions of Clay was founded by San Joaquin Potters Guild in 2002-2007.
In 2010, it was turned over to the Horton Gallery to continue presenting ceramics.
“It’s an exceptional show of craftsmanship and diversity of style through individual use of materials,” according to the Visions in Clay 2016 gallery guide.
This year, the gallery exhibited 60 works by 50 artists, including former student, Shiloh Gastello and recently retired ceramics professor, Joe Mariscal.
“He was our ceramics professor for 30 years,” Jan Marlese, Gallery Director, said. “Joe is a great artist; he’s been exhibiting in shows all around the country as well. He’s definitely a professional artist. We really like to make sure the students are aware that teachers are artists, that they are professional artists.”
While the show is an exhibition, awards were also presented.
G.V Kelley won Best of Show.
Matthew Patton won second place.
Linda S. Fitz Gibbon won third.
Shana Angela Salaff won San Joaquin Potters Guild Founders award.
“I make figurative ceramic sculptures exploring the nuances of identity, specifically related to gender, by pairing the heads of animals with human bodies,” Kelley wrote in an artist statement according to the Visions in Clay 2016 gallery guide. “This pairing problematizes the representation of both animal and human, subverting the stereotypes for both. In my most recent body of work, I pair the heads of animals that are commonly maligned with the bodies of feminized children.”
There are five more exhibitions this season; two more in the fall and three in the spring.
The next exhibition will be curated by Jan Marlese.
The show is called “Social Contracts” and will start Oct. 6 and will end Oct. 28.
A special performance called “Meena’s Dream” will be performed by Anu Yadau and will take place Oct. 27.
The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.
