WARES! Extraordinary Ceramics and the Ordinary Home

Earthenware. Stoneware. Kitchenware. Homeware. From ancient pottery for cooking and storage to modern decorative objects adorning the home, ceramics have a long, important history in domestic settings. This exhibition adds a contemporary twist to the association, with objects that signal an irreverent or even zany approach to the medium. Robert Arneson's Case of Bottles mimics factory-made glass soda bottles but adds a wonky, handmade feel. The miniatures of a newly married couple by Beatrice Wood playfully hint towards a disruption in domestic harmony. Woody De Othello fuses household objects with body parts, lending shape to the emotions that are latent but nonetheless expressed in domestic spaces. These alterations draw the ordinary-bottles, chairs and bites of food-into the extraordinary, prompting us to reevaluate our relationship with the things we encounter in our homes every day.

WARES! debuts two new works: Woody De Othello's underneath the surface changes occur that we cannot bear witness to (2023) and Seth Bogart's largest ceramic work to date Cheeks (2023).

Don’t Be So Serious: In Conversation with Seth Bogart
Thursday, August 17, 2023
5 - 6 pm
Mary Craig Auditorium
Free SBMA Members, Students, and UCSB Faculty
$5 Non-Members

The Power to Be: A Lecture by Anthony Sonnenberg
Thursday, September 14, 2023
5 - 6 pm
Mary Craig Auditorium
Free SBMA Members, Students, and UCSB Faculty
$5 Non-Members

Pop-Up Clay Play with Seth Bogart
Saturday, August 19, 2023
10 - 11:30 am
Family Resource Center
Free (pre-registration required)
Ages 18 and over

Pop-Up Clay Play with Anthony Sonnenberg
Saturday, September 16, 2023 10 - 11:30 am
Family Resource Center
Free (pre-registration required)
Ages 18 and over