Between the early 1950s and 1968, Peter Voulkos reshaped expectations around the ceramic medium, and created a varied body of work both in abstract and pottery forms. Today, this work seems more relevant than ever, as artists increasingly turn to ceramics for its expressive possibilities. This panel, composed of the leading specialists on Voulkos and contemporary artists, will consider the nature of his achievement and its ongoing resonance. Also under discussion will be the cultural associations that Voulkos has inspired. The panel will consider his work not only in aesthetic terms, but also in relation to issues of gender and American identity.

Panelists:

Glenn Adamson, moderator and co-curator of Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years.

Nicole Cherubini, artist working primarily in ceramic sculpture and mixed media. Cherubini's solo exhibitions include the Perez Art Museum Miami (Miami, FL), the Santa Monica Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA) and the Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia, PA), among many others.

James Melchert, former student of Voulkos in the 1950s; Artist; Professor of Art, Emeritus, U.C. Berkeley, 1964 –1994, and former Director of the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Andrew Perchuk, Deputy Director of the Getty Museum and co-curator of Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years.

Arlene Shechet, artist. Solo exhibitions include the RISD Museum (Providence, RI); the Weatherspoon Art Museum (Greensboro, NC); the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park, KS) The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery (Sarasota Springs NY); the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver CO); and a twenty-year survey of her work at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (Boston, MA) in June 2015, among many others.

This program is organized in conjunction with the exhibition Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years.