Mary Oestereicher Hamill: regardisregard
Mary Oestereicher Hamill is a multi-media artist and pioneer of participatory photo-based art, shining a light on the needs of poor and marginalized people in our society.
My current ceramic work explores invoking vessel references in large-scale forms reminiscent of abandoned industrial tools, gaudily-colored. I use clay in the fashioning of both stands and tables, and the pottery forms cobbled together from wheel-thrown and hand-built components. I aspire to attain in my work the wedding of the prosaic yet intimate qualities of functional pottery to the more assertive power of industrial tools, both relegated to an age more closely attuned to human labor and striving. It is less a matter of describing a sense of loss than to invoke wonder and curiosity in the work I now produce.
For the last decade I have been exploring and developing my current work of large-scale vessels, departing from attempts to employ traditional glazing surface treatments in favor of enamel and Casein paints. I made this break for better uniformity and control over the colors and textures needed for the results I seek. Instead of producing pottery, the wheel is now more of a tool for generating some of the parts I use combined with hand-built forms for assembling large vessels. I still rely on vessel references, but only tangentially and as a point of departure for sculptural exploration and invention.
Doug Herren
In addition to inspiring people with our classes, we spark imaginations with world-class art installed on our terrace and in our galleries. We maintain the beautiful stone mill that deepens your ties with the past and provide a gathering place for your family and friends on the Toshiko Takaezu Terrace.
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Programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Hyde and Watson Foundation; The Large Foundation; and The Holt Foundation, along with other corporations, foundations and individuals. The Hunterdon Art Museum is a wheelchair-accessible space. Publications are available in large print. Patrons who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired may contact the Museum through the New Jersey Relay Service at (TTY) 1 (800) 852-7899.
The land upon which Hunterdon Art Museum is located is part of the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape, called “Lenapehoking.” We acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land.
Mary Oestereicher Hamill is a multi-media artist and pioneer of participatory photo-based art, shining a light on the needs of poor and marginalized people in our society.