Timeless Art of the Everyday

“Art and crafts are in a great time right now,” says Kevin V. Wallace, a curator and author on the subject of contemporary crafts. On a visit to the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, where the exhibition “Enhancements: Handcrafted Functional Objects” is on view, Wallace points to the enduring quality of handmade objects.

“Before there were paintings, probably even before cave paintings, people were making little bowls and leaving their marks on them. It was the first form of function and expression that people worked with. That’s why it’s so wonderful that these media--glass, wood and pottery--are taking off right now.”

Wallace helped with the installation of this traveling exhibition, which includes 98 objects by 30 artists from around the United States. The show was curated by Robert Logan and Robert Cugno, independent curators from Garnett, Kan. Most of the works in the show were made in the past five years, making this a sampler of the directions that functional crafts are taking.

Jan McKeachie-Johnston’s wood-fired stoneware bowl, titled “Folded Basket,” 1999, was inspired by American Indian pottery, as well as the ancient civilizations of Crete and Africa, among others. Jay Jensen’s soda-fired “Teapot,” 2000, and wood-fired “Oil Can,” 2000, are anthropomorphic in their shapes and have touches of whimsy, with the long-spouted oil can’s shape closely resembling the pot’s.

Jeffrey N. Oestreich’s ceramic bird-like “Beaked Pitcher” and coordinated “Dessert Plates,” 1997, look at nature in a humorous vein. “In the form of craft, the vessel takes the place of the figure,” says Wallace. “Look closely at them and you’ll see feet, shoulders, mouths.”

Craftsmen stretch the imagination in their use of their materials. For example, Darryl and Karen Arawjo’s “Lightvessels,” done in 1998 and 2000, look like traditional vases, yet they’re made of white oak and woven synthetic monofilament.

Lightweight and translucent, they are “a wonderful example of artists looking at new materials,” says Wallace. “They used the modern monofilament, but in forms that have been around since the beginning of time and have been perfected through our human aesthetic.”

The furniture runs the spectrum from Rick Stein’s “Hall Table,” 2000, of American black cherry, with classic clean lines, to Boris Bally’s “Transit Chair,” 2000, made from recycled traffic signs and copper rivets. Looking at ordinary objects in new ways is something artists do, and Bally recycles to create this chair as well as a “Belly Table,” 2000, and a large “DPW Bowl,” 2000, that hangs on the wall.

Christopher Ellison’s “Bottle Cap Chair,” 2000, is made of low-carbon steel shaped into two large bottle caps for the seat and back. The legs look as if they’re ready to take off and run at a moment’s notice.

Also worthy of note are David Baird’s elegant silver-colored “Candle Sticks,” 2000, made from rhodium-plated wire, Cynthia Eid’s “Folded Vase,” 1998, a copper work that almost looks like origami, and Deborah Jemmott’s “Entwined Copper Table Lamp,” 1998, which has three copper tubes twisted together for the base and is topped by a handmade paper shade. W. Chester Old’s “Tower,” 2000, is a rectangular table lamp done in aluminum and stone.

Wall and floor coverings include Sara Hotchkiss’ “Bantam Bungalow,” 2000, a hand-woven cotton tapestry in a stars and stripes pattern, and Kathy Cooper’s “Abstract Floral,” 2000, a floor cloth, displayed here on the wall, that’s made of painted canvas.

“In crafts, glass was the first to step over into the art realm, largely because of Dale Chihuly, who opened the door for a lot of people,” Wallace says. Michael K. Hansen and Nina Paladino-Caron’s large handblown art glass bowls in the center of the exhibition include splashes of bright color reminiscent of Chihuly’s work. Some of these works are so precious looking that it would seem a shame to use them.

“The artists really hate that,” Wallace says. “The reason artists make things in these media is that they want to create things that become a part of people’s lives. If you have a ceramic mug that you use every day and a David Hockney work on the wall, you have a closer relationship with the mug because your hands go where the potter’s hand went before. Your relationship with these objects when you use them becomes much more intimate and, in a way, it elevates your everyday life too.”

As a companion to this exhibition, there are 88 turned-wood bowls by Bob Stockdale from the Forrest Merrill Collection.

According to Wallace, Stockdale was a modern pioneer in the crafts field and has influenced thousands of artists because he uses forms that enhance his wood. His range of wood and shapes for just one form--the bowl--is remarkable. The fiber works of Kay Sekimachi, Stockdale’s wife, also influential in the history of crafts, are on view.

“Enhancements: Handcrafted Functional Objects” continues through May 19; works by Stockdale and Sekimachi will be on view through May 28. The Craft and Folk Art Museum is at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (323) 937-4230.

Kathy Bryant may be reached at kbryant@socal.rr.com.