Robert Bullock, artist
Recently, ceramic artist Kelsey Schissel of Asheville’s Plays in Mud Pottery sought representation for her work in New York City. Though she developed a good rapport with several galleries and felt at least one might be a good fit, she ultimately decided against the idea. “It just didn’t feel right,” she says. “I own a beautiful ceramic gallery in a destination city known for art. I thought, what if Plays in Mud Pottery could become the gallery I was looking for?”
So she decided instead to rebrand her space as the Gallery at Plays in Mud Pottery Studio and offer representation to other ceramic artists. The gallery will host solo exhibitions for established and emerging ceramic artists from the region and eventually from around the country.
Kelsey Schissel, artist
“The goal of rebranding is to elevate the Gallery at Plays in Mud Pottery in such a way that it transitions into a destination for ceramic/art collectors,” says Schissel. “In the next 10 years my hope is to have an established gallery known for its portfolio of ceramic artists.”
The gallery’s first solo ceramic exhibition runs from Monday, May 1, to Wednesday, May 31, and features the work of Robert Bullock. An opening reception takes place Friday, May 5, from 6–9 p.m.
“I have been making pottery for more than two decades, so there is not much I haven’t seen or done,” says Schissel. “I have seen nothing like Robert’s work before.”
Bullock will show wheel-thrown pieces fired in an electric kiln and glazed with formulas he created himself. His glazing requires multiple applications that are often fired to bisque between coats. Some pieces require up to four intermediate firings before they are finally brought to glaze temperature.
“There is a tremendous level of risk in working this way,” says Bullock. “The failure rate of some glaze firings can be in excess of 30 percent. But when it works, the results can be amazing.”
His work reflects his longtime interest in archaeology, natural history, chemistry, physics, geology and art and architecture of the ancient world. Some of his forms appear Chinese, Japanese or Korean, while others look more Middle Eastern, and others still borrow from Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The surfaces of the pottery explore the relationship between chemistry, geology and physics. The viewer might see landscapes and seascapes or abstract expressionism in the glaze work. Other pieces resemble carved stones like jade and azurite.
“Making objects is an act of discovery for me,” says Bullock. “If I knew what things were going to look like when they were finished, I wouldn’t bother making them.”
Learn more at PlaysinMud.com.
