The annual Visions in Clay Invitational at the L.H. Horton Jr. Art Gallery has been a long time coming.
It’s the first in-person show since the world came to a screeching halt in spring 2020. Since then, Covid-19 hasn’t been the only obstacle.
During the 2021 holiday break, a hot water flex line broke, causing over $1 million dollars of damage in the Shima Center. The gallery, which wasn’t part of original flooding, was later impacted by additional flooding.
Shenny Cruces, the ceramics professor at Delta College, led the opening reception on Feb. 10.
The opening started with a land acknowledgment, followed by an introduction of the exhibiting artists. This year’s exhibition is inspired by food culture and migrant workers.
“I use that gallery as a teaching place,” Cruces said at the opening. “I bring my students in, they get to see your (the artists) work in an intimate environment… It’s one of the best things. It’s the show I look forward to every year.”
The hope is that with more classes being in-person there will be more foot-traffic to the gallery which has the potential to lead to more enrollment in studio arts classes.
“I feel like a lot of people get interested in ceramics because we all want to make pots, we all want to make cool shapes then eventually we all transition at one point or another,” said artist José Flores Nava, whose work is featured in the exhibition. “Some stay potters, and get really good at it. I feel like we start one way, then we kinda shift. It’s part of growing.”
This show is important, as it sets the stage for future in person gallery exhibitions as things reopen again.
The Horton Gallery in Shima 144 is showing the Visions in Clay Invitational from Feb. 10 to March 19. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
During Spring Break (March 16 to March 19), the gallery hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A Meet the Artists Gallery Reception will be held on March 19 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the gallery is open to the public.