PARRISH GALLERY
Figures and Faces by Don Hoskisson and Mya Cluff
January 31st - March 30th in the Parrish Gallery
Free Public Artist Reception: February 3rd, 5 - 7pm
If you are interested in purchasing art from any exhibits, please email Galleries@ChehalemCulturalCenter.org or call 503-487-6883
While “Figures and Faces” is the first duo show between artists Don Hoskisson and Mya Cluff, in a way, this body of work is the culmination of twenty-eight years of collaboration and mentorship. While Don has been working and teaching as an artist for over fifty years, and Mya is in the first decade of her career, primarily as a ceramic sculptor - as father and daughter their creative approaches are inextricably linked. In recent years, both artists have gravitated increasingly toward the human figure as a site of formal and conceptual exploration. This shared interest serves as the point of intersection and inspiration for this show.
Though best known for his highly patterned pottery, throughout his career Don has returned repeatedly to studies of the face with a particular interest in varied physiognomies and fantastical features. Many of the works in “Figures and Faces” reflect a new turn in his studio practice, toward an experimental marriage between his love of pattern and fantastical facial types. Highly imaginative, his portraits are imaginative caricatures rather than representational portraits, that together offer a lexicon of whimsical characters. The play with noses, eyes, lips and brows is as much a meditation on the surface as the detailed decorative patterning that accompanies them.
Mya has spent the last several years building a practice that is primarily focused on the exploration of motherhood as form and subject. Although highly naturalistic in style, at her hand the maternal body becomes a symbolist gesture that alludes to the intimacy and interiority of motherhood in its many manifestations. Mya’s sculptural practice explores the extent to which both internal and external signifiers of maternity in the body are charged with symbolic, psychological and social significance, calling up themes of love, loneliness, intimacy and alienation, responsibility and respite. “Figures and Faces” also marks the first series of collaborative works produced by father and daughter, with Mya producing the figural forms and Don providing the surface design for a small sculpture series, as well as a series of collaborative 2D works.
Although different in style and technique, Don and Mya both continue to be inspired by interplay/ exchange between human figures and the materiality of sculpted clay. “Figures and Faces” serves as a dialogue between father and daughter around the human form as an indexical source for imaginative play, personal reflection and social connection. They are happy to have had this opportunity to explore these ideas together, and to share this conversation between father and daughter with the patrons of the Chehalem Cultural Center.
Author: Brittney Bailey
Below is a sampling of works from this shop. Please stop by the Center to see the entire show! You can also support artists and the Center by purchasing work! Please call or stop by for more information.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Mya Cluff
Ceramic Artist in Belgrade, Montana
Mya is a ceramic artist living in the small town of Belgrade, Montana. Originally an Oregonian, she uprooted her PNW roots in 2017 to move to Montana and immerse herself in the rich clay culture found in the Big Sky state. A mother of two children, Mya is intrigued with the psychological, political and interpersonal ramifications of the maternal experience, and uses her own experience as well as the experiences of her peers to inform her work. She also draws much
inspiration from written accounts on Motherhood, feminist literature, and folklore. Mya has been included in many group exhibitions, and exhibited her first solo show in the summer of 2021 at the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture in Bozeman, MT. She received her BFA from the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, during which she had her first child, and her work has focused on the maternal experience ever since her undergrad thesis body of work which highlighted the transition to motherhood. More about Mya at MyaCluff.com on Instagram @myacluffstudio
Don Hoskisson
Ceramicist in Newberg, Oregon
Don has been working professionally as a ceramicist for nearly half a century. He began his career in education, teaching at Jarvis Christian College, Arizona State University, and Western Oregon University where he taught Ceramics, Drawing, Design for more than 30 years. His primary medium is porcelain, but he also works in high fire stoneware. Throughout his career he has explored nearly every aspect of clay, where medium, technique and style are concerned.
He works primarily with functional, highly patterned pieces, however he has also works with beautiful and imaginative sculptural creations , and hand built and functional wear. He has a deep affinity for pattern and the exploration of geometric shapes. As an educator Don Hoskisson has a vast and star studded progeny of students who consider him to be their mentor. More about Don at JustTwoPotters.com and on Instagram @JustTwoPotters
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