Functional Fall: Shake It Up is a national Call For Entry Exhibition guest juried by former Artists-in-Residence Austin Coudriet and Nikki Lau. This Third Annual Functional Fall Exhibition at Clay Art Center presents ceramic salt and pepper shakers, and cellars, and features submissions from artists at all stages of their careers.
Salt and pepper shakers have been integral to our daily lives for over 200 years, playing a crucial role in cooking, dining, and the overall food experience. Though often considered ordinary objects, salt and pepper shakers (along with salt cellars or salt pigs) boast a rich history as collectibles, souvenirs of travel, and reflections of design trends. These simple items, intricately intertwined with human history, also serve as silent witnesses to the complexities of colonization. Their contents—salt and pepper—carry stories of trade, exploration, and culture.
Participating artists include:
Maria Albornoz, Chai Allilharder, Madison Berry, Dalia Berman, Julie Buyon, Jeanne Carreau, Sarah Clark, Jenn Pal Conte, Gabs Conway, Jeffrey Dean, Brenden Dreiling, Marlene Ferrell, Zoe Filzer, Rose Foley, Robin Henschel, Stephen Heywood, Meg Howton, Karen James, Lexie Koch, Sophia Koch-Holdsworth, Marina Kuchinski, Dallas LaCassa, Paula Landdeck, Victoria Lewandowski, Daeun Lim, Rebecca Lowery, Susie Meskill, Carbery Morrow, Sarah Mundy, Jane Neuss Cohen, Richard Nickel, Sally Ng, Olivier Peter-Contesse, Ellen Salov, Roberta Shapiro, and Mayetta Steier.
Guest Juror Austin Coudriet is a ceramic artist, designer, and educator, currently based out of Helena, Montana where he is a long-term resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation. Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, he earned his BFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2019. Coudriet was a long-term resident at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York (2019-21) and at The Clay Studio of Missoula (2021-23). He has also had short term residencies at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (2021) and The LUX Center for the Arts (2020). Over the past decade, Coudriet’s work has been showcased in prominent ceramic exhibitions across the country, including solo shows in New York, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Missoula, and Lincoln. His work has also been featured in international publications, most notably in Vogue Magazine—Vogue Living. Recently Coudriet has led ceramic furniture workshops across the United States— in New York, California, Texas, Montana, and Pennsylvania — and internationally in France, Spain, Chile, and Mexico.
Learn more about Austin Coudriet
Guest Juror Nikki Lau was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. She received her MFA at Penn State in 2016. Penn State awarded her the Bunton Waller Assistantship. She received her BA in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts at the University of Washington in 2008. She was an Artist-in-Residence at The Clay Art Center New York from 2018-2019 and a resident artist at Armory Art Center in Florida from 2019 to 2020. Nikki has done short term residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Arrowmont’s Pentaculum and an international residency at Casa Lu Sur in Mexico City. She’s participated in art shows throughout the country. She currently splits her time between California and Pennsylvania living her snowbird life as she works on her pottery and home décor business Little Lau Shop.
Learn more about Nikki Lau
Clay Art Center Gallery Mission
The Clay Art Center Gallery provides a platform for emerging and established artists to explore a wide range of topics that address materials, processes, and techniques, and to engage in critical dialogue through clay. We are committed to exhibiting a variety of work from artists around the country with unique and diverse backgrounds, as well showcasing our Clay Art Center artists and students.
