American Craft recently visited the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. As we entered, we were delighted to find gallery guide Nili Baider just beginning a tour. She took us straight to Canadian artist Shary Boyle’s recent Outside the Palace of Me exhibition. “It’s something,” said Baider, who was a jeweler before starting her career in interior design, and whose name has appeared several times in this magazine.
Boyle’s whimsical, piercing, multisensory, multimedia exhibition was a revelation—especially in its exploration of identity and the power of handcraft. One piece felt especially meaningful to us: a 23-inch-high terra-cotta and porcelain sculpture called The Potter II, featuring a headless potter seated behind a stack of pots.
See, we had vessels top of mind. We were in the city for the Folio Awards, where American Craft won two: an Ozzie design award for our 2022 coverage of ACC Award recipients, and an Eddie editorial award for our full Spring 2023 issue on the theme of vessel.
In The Potter II, the body of the potter seems to emerge from red clay. The sculpture’s stacked vessels represent traditional ceramic styles from China, Ghana, France, Greece, and Peru. This work illustrates how vessels are a fundamental form that connects us as humans across time and space. It speaks to our desire to make the functional beautiful.
We’re grateful to artists like Shary Boyle and to all the makers who not only create the things we need but also invite us into the world of our imaginations and of our shared humanity. —The Editors
