The New Show”Funk you too! Humor and irreverence in ceramic sculpture”, at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York, articulates the links between groups of artists working on a once neglected medium, now valued. It brings together artists from the Funk Generation, a protest movement that emerged on the West Coast in the 1960s, with artists who today perpetuate their subversive spirit in clay.
Comprising some 50 artworks, the exhibition “comes at a time when clay as a sculptural medium is receiving unprecedented attention from the art world,” said Elissa Auther, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs. and chief curator of the MAD, in a press release. “Taking advantage of MAD’s extensive collection of historic Funk ceramics, ‘Funk You Too!’ examines the critical contexts that gave rise to the importance of humor in ceramic sculpture and argues for the continued relevance of Funk ceramics for a new generation of artists.
Artists of the Funk Generation from the 1960s to the 1980s, as “Father of Funk Art” Robert Arneson, Viola FreyAnd Patti Warashina, are juxtaposed with promising young artists who also express humor in clay. The younger ones include Genesis Belanger (the subject of a recent exhibition at the New Museum), Ruby Neri (recently featured in the New York Times T-magazine), and Woody De Othello (who had a moment of escape at Art Basel Miami Beach a few years ago).
Alake Shilling, Baby bear loves Alake (2021). Courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
While the original Funk artists worked in a medium that was relegated to craft status, today clay is on a par with other mediums. Ceramicists such as Betty Woodman, Ron NagleAnd Ken Price benefit from museum retrospectives and bustling markets, as the rigid boundaries between art and craft have become more porous, if not entirely eliminated.
“Many of the contemporary artists in the exhibition have drawn critical attention,” said Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, independent curator, writer and curator of the exhibition, in a press release. “Yet their work has rarely been contextualized within the history of ceramics, craftsmanship, and the larger history of Funk art.”
“Funk You Too! Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture” is on view at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City through August 27. See more images below.
Genesis Belanger, You never know what you’re gonna get (2021). Photo: Jenna Bascom, courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
Diana Yesenia Alvarado, List Para Volar (2022). Courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
Installation view of “Funk You Too!” Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Photo: Jenna Bascom, courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
Viola Frey, Group Series: Interview Woman 1 (1988). Courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
Patty Warashina, Pitter-Poder (1968). Courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
Installation view of “Funk You Too!” Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Photo: Jenna Bascom, courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
David Gilhooly, Bread frog as a coffee break (1981–82). Courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design.
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