“Underneath Everything” Gallery Talk featuring Exhibition Artists

Event Details

Join us for an incredible gathering of Artists Katayoun Amjadi, Eliza Au, Heidi McKenzie, and Ehren Tool. Hear them talk about various aspects of their work included in the exhibition, “Underneath Everything: Humility and Grandeur in Contemporary Ceramics.” Exhibition Curator, Mia Laufer, Ph. D., will provide an overview of the exhibition and then each artist will introduce us to their work.

Katayoun Amjadi is an Iranian-born, Minneapolis-based artist, educator, and independent curator. In her work, she often considers the sociopolitical systems that shape our perceptions of self and other, such as language, religion, gender, politics, and nationalist ideologies.

Eliza Au is originally from Vancouver, B.C. in Canada. She creates lattice-like ceramic objects which allude to architectural ornamentation in sacred spaces such as cathedrals, temples, and mosques. Her work explores how these spaces facilitate and fulfill the human need for meaning and understanding of the unknown. In her work, she brings these patterns into a contemporary context by reinterpreting historical pattern with 3D printing and mold making.

Heidi McKenzie is a ceramic artist based in Toronto, Canada. McKenzie’s studio practice engages issues of race, migration, ancestry, and decolonization. McKenzie began incorporating photographic imagery on clay in 2014 to viscerally depict the fragmentation of body and has moved on to explore image as archive.

Ehren Tool is a ceramic artist whose work is heavily influenced by his service in the Marine Corps and his subsequent return to the civilian world. Tool has made and given away over 25,000 cups since 2001. Tool just makes cups and believes peace is the only adequate war memorial.

This event is free, and no registration is required.

Image: Top left: Heidi McKenzie, “Division” (detail)
Top right: Ehren Tool, “Untitled”
Bottom left: Katayoun Amjadi, “Dolorous Interlude” (detail)
Bottom right: Eliza Au, “Sanctuary” (detail), Photo: John Joe