Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art Hosts New Exhibit

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art will host the opening reception for its new exhibit, “Lighting the Fire: Ceramics Education in the American West” tonight at 8 p.m. The reception will include a gallery talk with Mathew Limb, guest curator and Windgate Museum intern.

“‘Lighting the Fire’ explores the importance of educators in the development of the ceramic arts,” Limb said in a press release. “Celebrating individuals from diverse backgrounds, this exhibition showcases how through experimentation, community and collaboration they challenged the art/craft binary and elevated clay as a respected medium of fine art.”

The new exhibit features work from over 20 ceramic educators from the mid-20th century including Laura Andreson, Rudy Autio, Ralph Bacerra and F. Carlton Ball. The exhibition is a continuation of the central role the ceramic arts have played in the history of NEHMA.

“This exhibition is important to us because it pays tribute to our museum’s namesake, Nora Eccles Harrison Treadwell, whose passion for ceramics was integral to the founding of the museum,” said Katie Lee Koven, executive director and resident curator of NEHMA. “We owe much of our important collection of ceramics to Nora and many works in the exhibition were acquired for us through the generous support of the Nora Eccles Treadwell Foundation.”

Limb is acting as guest curator for the exhibit after receiving the 2016 Windgate Museum Internship through The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design. He has spent his four-month tenure at the museum researching NEHMA’s ceramic collection and continuing his study of the development of design and craft in 20th century western America.

NEHMA will host the exhibition until Dec. 10.

-Mike Burnham

mikeburnham3@gmail.com