PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Art Gallery presents an exhibit of the work of ceramic artist Wm. Reeder Fahnestock between Jan. 31 and March 20, 2020.
Not Your Mother’s Jugs features 19 hand-crafted jugs of varying sizes by the artist. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Gallery Reception on Friday, Feb. 7 from 5-7 p.m. This reception is being held in conjunction with the Presque Isle First Friday Art Walk.
Wm. Reeder Fahnestock is Studio Manager at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Midcoast Maine. A Midwesterner by birth, he received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2001 and was awarded his MFA from Kansas State University in 2007 where he studied with Yoshiro Ikeda, Anna Calluori Holcombe, and Dr. Glen Brown, and was awarded the Strecker-Nelson Gallery MFA Scholarship. He was the inaugural artist in residence at Pinon Hill Pottery in La Veta, Colorado, and was an artist in residence for two years at Pope Valley Pottery in the Napa Valley in California. His work has appeared in numerous shows, is included in the book 500 Sculptures, and is widely collected.
Concerning this exhibition, Fahnestock stated: “Jugs were among the earliest ceramic forms created by Europeans in America. They were essential for storing and transporting liquids. Colonial potters produced them in the thousands to satisfy the demands of a growing population. A quotidian form, rarely embellished, the ordinary jug occupied the lowest rung of utilitarian ceramic forms. They continued to be produced prolifically into the early twentieth century before being replaced by glass, metal, and plastic containers. The demise of the ceramic jug spelled the demise of the potter, supplanted by mass production. This show is homage to the humble jug, here remembered, elevated and celebrated.”
All are invited to view Fahnestock’s show between January and March and to come out to the First Friday Art Walk on Feb. 7 and take part in the free reception. There will also be a closing reception on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 5-7 p.m.
The Reed Art Gallery is located on the upper floor of the Center for Innovative Learning in the heart of the UMPI campus at 181 Main St. in Presque Isle. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Reed Art Gallery is closed on weekends and holidays.
For more information, contact Gallery Director Frank Sullivan at frank.sullivan@maine.edu or 207-694-1920.
Submitted by the Community and Media Relations Office of the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
