“Transformed by Fire” celebrates Lacouture’s 37-year teaching career
The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery has announced the opening of “Transformed by Fire: A Wood Fire Community,” an exhibition that marks the conclusion of ceramics professor Jay Lacouture’s illustrious 37-year teaching career.
“Transformed by Fire” is a group exhibition featuring work from the May and October 2017 firings of “Uncle George,” the two-chamber wood kiln at Carolina Pottery, Lacouture’s home studio. Uncle George has been a valuable teaching tool for Lacouture and hundreds of his former students, professional potters and visiting artists since 1999, when it was first built and fired.
The campus community and the general public are invited to the opening reception for the artists, which will be held from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22 in the gallery. Lacouture will also give a talk, “Transformed by Fire: Forty Years Later” at 6 p.m. in the adjacent DiStefano Lecture Hall. The show runs through Wednesday, March 28.
By its very nature, the process of stoking a wood kiln breeds a certain community spirit and provides a unique educational opportunity for all who participate. Current students and alumni, former visiting artists in ceramics, and potters from across the region were invited to participate in both the firings and the exhibition, which celebrates all who have been a part of this vibrant process and learning community.
Lacouture will retire from the Salve Regina faculty in May. He is a fellow and former president of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts and served on the board of directors for the Studio Potter Organization. He has been an artist-in-residence in Kamioka, Japan; Jingdezhen, China; and at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. His pottery has been exhibited and published in the U.S., Australia, China and Japan.
The gallery is handicap accessible with parking along Lawrence and Leroy avenues. Its exhibits are open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The gallery is closed on Mondays.
