Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Scene

Media Credit: Lydia Gantert

Media Credit: Lydia Gantert

The teapot, it seems lackluster but think of all the cultural references - "I'm a little teapot," Chip and Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast, tea parties and the Boston Tea Party, just to name a few American references.

The new exhibit opening Thursday at the Foster Art Gallery, "Teapots: Formal, Functional, Narrative," explores the teapot through 40 different interpretations.

In recent years, teapots have become objects of investigation for ceramists. As ceramics developed, the teapot has remained a "quintessential ceramic form" - probably because it provides many possible areas of exploration, according to the co-curator and exhibitor Margaret Bohl's curators' statement.

In every culture they appear in, teapots are functional but also become a cultural statement, said Susan O'Brien, assistant professor of art, exhibitor and co-curator of the exhibit.

"(The teapot is) loaded with historical references and each culture that does tea has a different form or ritual that goes with it," she said.

The exhibit isn't just about looking at traditional teapots, however, but rather is a change for artists to interpret teapots and have a conversation of what a teapot is or how to make a teapot. The exhibit features 40 different artists' interpretations of teapots. Some teapots featured are functional and recognizable; others, like a reclining newt or a 40-inch tall wall piece, challenge the traditional concept of a teapot.

"It's pushing the envelope on what a teapot talks about," she said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the public's surprise when they see a teapot they're not expecting to see."

O'Brien, who is also exhibiting her own ceramic work, said her work is functional, but geared toward the decorative, using 19th century silver work as some inspiration. Her work is also animated in that it makes reference to the human form, she said. But she likes to keep her work playful, interweaving layers of metaphor and humor into her interpretations of a teapot.

"There's a bit of sarcasm … and playfulness and naughtiness," she said.

Art students also were able to get a hands-on with the works on display, O'Brien said, because they unpacked the works and were able to examine up close the different interpretations on the tangible level.

This exhibit also offers another learning opportunity. This is the first exhibit in the Foster Art Gallery that will be linked to an online catalogue, giving anyone with an Internet connection the chance to view the exhibit.


Teapots: Formal, Functional, Narrative
Where: Foster Art Gallery
When: Thursday through March 29. Opening reception is 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the gallery
Who: Forty different artists with national and international reputations
Why: "It's pushing the envelope on what a teapot talks about," said Susan O'Brien, assistant professor of art, exhibitor and co-curator of the exhibit.

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