Firing up First Friday ahead of March’s big ceramics conference

It’s a good thing that Oklahoma’s fracking earthquakes cause only tiny tremors here in KC, because almost every gallery in the area (including Lawrence) is full of breakables right now. March 16-19, the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) is in town for its 50th annual conference, with this First Friday an informal prelude.

You can get in the mood before leaving the house by downloading the 21-page PDF of conference information from nceca.net. The sheer number of artists showing work is overwhelming, as is the variety of ceramics. If you’re expecting a bunch of teapots and vases, prepare to be blown away.

Hilliard Gallery (1820 McGee) opens three shows March 4. An invitational showcases the legacy of professor Yoshiro Ikeda, who died in 2014, with works by 20 Kansas State University artists. The International Cone Box Show is a juried exhibition of ceramic pieces that fit inside an Orton cone box. That’s the small container that a particular brand of pyrometric cone comes in — the cones are precisely engineered clay compositions used during firing to measure the kiln environment. The Past Cone Box Juror Show is also on view.

Sheriff Joe & His Deputies, at Plenum (504 East 18th Street), honors the influence of professors, mentors and peers that ceramics students at the University of Kansas have had since 2010. This invitational includes Samantha Archer, Ami Ayars Harrington, Chris Burke, Brandi Lee Cooper, Neil Goss, Erin Gunnelson, Sam Halloway, Zach Palasz, Grace Anne Peterson and Amanda Schneider.

Garcia Squared Contemporary (115 West 18th Street, upstairs) features From the Wheel to the Wall, which looks at the intersection of ceramics and graffiti from the perspectives of Samantha Bachman, Brett Freund, Brian Giniewski, Shannon Goff, Ashley Lugo, Roberto Lugo, Josh Novak, Malcolm Mobutu Smith and Mat Tomezsko.

Weinberger Fine Art (114 Southwest Boulevard) showcases works created last summer by artists who are professors at GuangXi Arts in Nanning, China; Memphis College of Art; and the Kansas City Art Institute, and are part of the Studio Nong International Sculpture Collective: Zhenhai He, Jigang Qin, Bangmin Nong, Shanwu Huang, Jessie Fisher, Misty Gamble, Scott Seebart and Leandra Urrutia. Their strategy demonstrates the deep connection among various traditions in this medium worldwide; more than 50 figurative pieces are on display here.

In addition to three shows that opened last month, the Belger Arts Center (2100 Walnut) launches seven more NCECA-related exhibitions at its Crane Yard Studios location (2011 Tracy), five of which open March 4. One pays homage to KCAI’s 1968-2001 professor Victor Babu, with works by three former students: John Balistreri, Chris Gustin and Matt Long. Another celebrates the late-19th-century explosion of decal use in ceramic work, with 14 artists incorporating “ready-mades” and custom imagery in their work. Yet another, Objectify, is all about animals and how their forms are used in ceramic art to serve as metaphors for human emotions as well as sociopolitical and environmental issues.

Leedy-Voulkos Art Center (2012 Baltimore) is the NCECA epicenter, with the NCECA 2016 National Student Juried Exhibition, the Shapers of the Field: NCECA Honors and Fellows show, and the 2016 Emerging Artists Exhibition. You’ll see the present and the future of this art form in full force, through the work of more than 100 artists.

Some ceramics are included at VLM Wise Gallery (2020 Baltimore), which is hosting its annual Shave to Save group exhibition and auction March 4. Works by 30 artists are up for silent bidding from 6:30 to 7 p.m. (following a preview that starts at 5:30), and the proceeds benefit Hope Lodge, which provides housing to people with cancer who come to KC for treatment. If you’ve wanted to buy original art by Scribe, Guinotte Wise, Mars Dention, Betsy Jemas or Tyson Schroeder, here’s a chance.

Beggar’s Table (2010 Baltimore, upstairs) presents encaustic works created at Amanda Jolley’s Studio Joy by residents of the Kansas City Rescue Mission Women’s Center as, show materials say, “an expression of a thought or emotion explored” when they were there. Profits from sales benefit the center directly.

Imagine That (2040 Central) is showcasing the results of monthlong collaborations between 11 KCAI students and 11 artists supported by the gallery. Coming Together is the result of intense cross-learning between two distinct communities, and the ceramic works that were created in the process are proof that art is a universal language.

Main Street Gallery (1610 Main, upstairs) undergoes Metamorphosis: a group show that includes Lori Raye Erickson, Mindy Goodman, Amy Green, Travis Pratt and Annie Woodfill. Along with 10 others, these artists present work that expands the definition of metamorphosis to include all the events that change our lives.

Jones Gallery (1717 Walnut) has two-dimensional art by Erlene E.C. Flowers and Anthony High.

And Late Show (1600 Cherry) likewise is providing nonclay relief with human figure drawings by Carlyle Raine and ink drawings by John Davis Carroll.