(970) 927-9668
Ann Korologos Gallery presents Michael Wisner: Emerging from Clay a solo exhibition showcasing the fine art ceramics of Michael Wisner. The exhibition is on view July 21st to 27th with an in-gallery artist demonstration on Thursday, July 27th from 5 to 7 PM at Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt.
“The decades of studying with masters, the extent to which he has explored technique and style, and the cumulative years in silent meditation contribute to the truly exceptional nature of Wisner’s work,” shares Sue Edmonds, Ann Korologos Gallery director. “His inspiration and process are a remedy to a busy world, practiced along each step, and his story is an inspiration to follow your calling.”
Born and raised in Maryland, Michael Wisner nearly spent all his life in a lab coat, working in cancer research. At the age of 25, he realized a life in a lab would not suit him, and he followed his calling as an artist. During his art studies at the ISOMATA School in Idyllwild, California, Michael Wisner discovered the work of Juan Quezada, “the patriarch of pottery tradition in Mexico,” according to Michael.
Furthermore, Wisner embarked on a journey that led him to Mata Ortiz, Mexico and the doorstep of Juan Quezada, where he began a lifelong friendship and mentorship with the Mexican-Paquime Indian ceramicist, who, sadly, passed away in 2022. It was from Quezada that Wisner learned the art of selecting, digging, and creating clay from the land. He learned how to form hand-coiled pots, low-temperature firings, and develope fine finishes without the use of glaze, and work with the land and its energy.
Inspired by patterns found along hiking trails – pinecones, weavings, seed pods or a wandering river—Wisner studied these patterns and developed tools to press them into clay. “I look at the creative process as a collaboration between nature and the artist, where each has a voice in the process,” Wisner explains in an interview with Aspen Magazine’s 2023 edition. “Art is a celebration of our contact with the natural world. Beautiful places inspire us and become a mirror that reflects inside and helps to stir creativity to the surface.”
The artist simplifies his process at every stage, possible only through incredible skill and knowledge which allows him to find clay instead of order it; carve clay instead of paint it; utilize natural processes rather than glass glaze; give time instead of buying it; visualize a pattern instead of measuring it; study nature’s architecture instead of copy it. Wisner has created a home base and studio in the Roaring Fork Valley where he digs the clay to create his ceramic pots and finds endless inspiration in the bountiful natural world of the Roaring Fork Valley.
Michael Wisner: Emerging from Clay is on view July 21 to July 27, 2023 at Ann Korologos Gallery in historic downtown Basalt and virtually at korologosgallery.com. Join the artist for an artist talk Thursday, July 27 from 5 to 7PM. For questions, hours or private viewing times, please call (970) 927-9668, email art@korologosgallery.com, or visit korologosgallery.com.
