Two recent NEA grants will result in a retrospective exhibition on Warren Mackenzie and support for the the visiting artist residency program at Archie Bray Foundation:

Warren Mackenzie: Legacy of an American Potter, Rochester Art
Center, Rochester MN, May 19 - August 26, 2007
Warren MacKenzie is one of Minnesota’s greatest treasures. Recognized as a true master of 20th Century ceramic art, MacKenzie is nearing 84 years old and is still producing work in his studio outside of Stillwater. This comprehensive retrospective exhibition presents seminal works produced by MacKenzie over a 58 year period (1948-2006). Featuring over 200 works representing various styles, forms and approaches to the art of clay, this exhibition will undoubtedly shed new light on the life and work of one of America’s foremost studio potters.

As one of America’s greatest living potters and an inspiration to a new generation of ceramic artists, Warren MacKenzie’s life and work reflects the changing role of the ceramic artist in society from the early modern philosophy of producing works for industry to the emergence of the individual studio potter in the 1950s. This exhibition pays tribute to Warren MacKenzie as one of the pioneers in the studio pottery movement in America today. Through his traditional, wheel thrown stoneware vessels, MacKenzie embodies not only the fusion of influences of Bernard Lead, Shoji Hamada and Soetsu Yanagi but also his own unique vision where art and life are one, and where the presence of the potter’s hand is felt and touched through the utilitarian pots that are produced for use in everyday life.

This exhibition traces the art of Warren MacKenzie through works on loan from over twenty institutional and individual collections. The exhibition explores MacKenzie’s development as a potter form his early studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to his unique experiences working with the world-renowned ceramic artists Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada. The exhibition will present works in chronological order with the addition of a comprehensive associated materials—photographs, didactic materials, films, gallery guides and a fully-illustrated catalog with essays by leading ceramic art scholars.

Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT
$10,000
To support a visiting artist residency program. An exhibition will feature representative work by participating artists; public programs and demonstrations will complement the residencies.