the monolith plan

The next logical step from here. We will post images of the finished project soon, but this is how we get from a to b.

Loot from the National Museum Cardiff

We got the monkey that was printed in Wales for the Immaterial Artifacts show at the National Museum Cardiff.

Our sculpture combined with 3-d scanned objects from the collection printed in plastic.

Here are the links that explain the project.

Immaterial Artifacts

interview with us

bemis studio

One of my favorite images from our Bemis studio - good old #12. We just arrived home today, and already miss everyone like crazy.

www

Finally updated our website  - we were still using iweb, which is a program that Apple discontinued more than 2 years ago. Needless to say, it had to be done. Still working out a few kinks with connecting this blog to the site, but otherwise here it is...

the littlefield

We have been working with a good friend of ours Matt Distel on his newest project, The Littlefield, a craft bourbon bar in Northside, Cincinnati. We designed an interior panel for the second story, are working on some lithophanes for behind the bar, and installed some of our wolf heads around the space. Matt had the brilliant idea to make matching wolf head ice cubes, so here is our inaugural test and drink. Cheers.

second life

"Zuber's Menagerie", iphone installation shot from Mike's install at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft a couple weeks ago. We are part of the show Second Life, curated by Joey Yates, which runs from June 14th - August 31st. Super proud to have our work sandwiched between Damien Hirst and John James Audubon (Mike's hero). 

the beginning

The beginning of our 2001 capsule room of sorts... a combination of ideas over the last year and half that are finally starting to come together. We are working in collaboration with Chris Vorhees, who can pretty much make anything. 

2001

We are currently obsessed with 2001: A Space Odyssey. Big time.

ceramics monthly

Our piece, Gangster's Paradise is featured in Ceramics Monthly this month(!!) The show is a reboot of the original Taming Nature, which debuted at NCECA in March, but is now on view at Red Star through June 28th.

the dinnerware museum

We were invited to make a luncheon snack set for The Dinnerware Museum in Ann Arbor MI earlier this year by one of our favorite people ever, Margaret Carney. Part of the show Three Courses, the luncheon tray was made very popular in the 1940s and 50s, allowing for a civilized snack on your lap. We took a different approach, and filled the snack area with rats, who maybe got to the plate first. 

"Rat Snacks"

9" x 5"

porcelain, transfers, decals

UK

We were Visiting Artists yesterday at the University of Kentucky in Lexington - and had a truly wonderful time. Jonathan McFadden, Assistant Professor in Printmaking invited us out for the day - on a tip from one our graduate students Colin Klimesh. Really feeling the midwest love these days. 

bemis!

In less than two weeks are taking off and heading down to Omaha Nebraska to be Resident Artists at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts with these fine folks above. We are beyond excited, which makes powering through these last two weeks of school a breeze (of sorts).
Can't wait to hang out in here and make new work:

free time

For the last two months, we have been working with Carmel Buckley and Mark Harris on their epic project, Sparrow Come Back Home for the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington, DE. We applied and fired over 300 ceramic decals to 12x12 tiles, mimicking a record cover in porcelain tile. You can read all about the exhibition here, and then run to pandora and type in Mighty Sparrow to see what all the fuss is about.

nceca 2014 - taming nature

"Gangster's Paradise"

porcelain and paper

4' x 2' x 6"

2014

created for the exhibition Taming Nature, curated by Paul Donnelly. 

photos taken with an iphone and a glass of wine

crafting a continuum

We are psyched to be included in the exhibition and book Crafting a Continuum, Rethinking Contemporary Craft, now at the Bellevue Arts Museum through April 27th. Even better is that the book is available on Amazon, which makes us feel super legit.

the art of food

Installing our work at The Carnegie for The Art of Food, opening tomorrow night. Love this building.

Opening night action shot (via instagram)

rookwood classics

We are back at Rookwood, working on a new series of interventions and collaborations. Kataro Shirayamadani's Dragon Vase from 1922 is pictured above, with a variety of alterations to the surface and glaze. Not sure where this going right now... but we definitely have a couple exciting projects in queue.

Monkey Heaven

This was just sent for a show happening at the National Museum of Wales, in Cardiff. We were invited to manipulate several digitalized objects from the museum collection. These will be 3-d printed and shown among the original artifacts. The monkey couldn't be happier with all this loot. The exhibition will open this April.

The New York Ceramics Fair

We are thrilled to participate in The New York Ceramics Fair, opening today and running through January 26th. Leslie Ferrin has curated us into The Bacchanalistas: Passions + Pleasure, which focuses on artists whose practice is informed by ceramic history and themes of abundance and excess. I can't stop thinking about The Secret History, one of my favorite books of all time, and drawing parallels between that, our work, and this show... 

more cups

Nothing like making lithophanes in China - the clarity is unreal. The image above is from a cultural revolution propaganda poster, which seemed super appropriate to appropriate.
Side note: GMD has been listening to The China History Podcast nonstop, which is definitely worth checking out. They are fascinating.

year of the horse

Our pieces for the show One Artist One Horse at the Mufei Gallery in Jingdezhen. We thought it was fitting to honor the year of horse with Eadweard Muybridge and his photos of a horse in motion, using blue and white painting and cutting paper silhouettes. 

back in jingdezhen

Working with Mao, like a boss.

cincinnati art museum

A couple images found via social media of our ARTiculate lecture with Cincinnati Art Museum director Aaron Betsky last Wednesday night. We had a blast talking about how we collaborate (in the studio as well as at work/school) and gently pushing the other one to admit crazy things about themselves out loud to the public. Good times. We just might have spilled some secrets after all.  

in progress

Currently working on a pair of luncheon snack sets for The Dinnerware Museum in Ann Arbor MI. This is one of four "sets" we have in the works - glazed but not fired. Going with a still life motif, and hoping that the future owner eats very tiny sandwiches.

Ceramic Top 40

Above are the two pieces we sent to Red Star/Belger Art Center in Kansas City for Leslie Ferrin's Ceramic Top 40 show. They are the first we have made using the Meissen Lion we "captured" this summer. More to come without a doubt.
Grand Theft Lion, Misfit and Grand Theft Lion, Floral
11"x 8"x 7", and 15" x 8" x 7"
porcelain, china paint, and gold leaf
2013
images courtesy of Red Star

florals

I am recently obsessed with all things block printed after spending some time in the Cooper Hewitt stacks this summer. As always, I love starting anything new - and then obliterating it with pattern. So, take one, with restraint shown (notice the blank spaces).
idea in progress

Cincinnati Portfolio IV

"Quantitative Menagerie"

Our 7 color screen print from Clay Street Press, part of the 4th edition of the Cincinnati Portfolio. This drawing is a proposal for a future sculpture, inspired by urban animals, Spring Grove Cemetery, and Dutch Still Life paintings. You know, just the usual stuff. 

(special thanks to Mark, Emily, and Casey at Clay Street for all your help and hard work)

Grand Theft

 

Kirchner's Lion made for Meissen, ca. 1732, part of Augustus The Strong's porcelain menagerie. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We love the way the face stretched, due to some of the processing,  making the lion look like it has melted a little. With this project I am more interested in the glitches of digital translation than the precision that we get from our regular process.  We have been traveling and visiting museums to snatch up some of our favorite historical works using photogrammetry, curating our own collection. Time to do what we do to this...

printmaking with professionals

Image of our print in progress at Clay Street Press. A six seven color silkscreen printed by REAL printmakers - the images are actually lining up which is super exciting. (don't get me wrong, I love the way we do it, but it is very nice to be working with professionals). This is print will be part of the Cincinnati Portfolio, a series Mark Patsfall and Clay Street Press put out every ten years. 

The Living Room, lights

The chandeliers for the "dining room" @ The Living Room, CAC. The show is up for one more week!

White Light, Bear 

6' x 4' x 3' installation view

porcelain, die cut paper, and neon 

2013

(and special thanks to all the guys at Neonworks)

contemporary arts center (CAC) art auction

We have some work in the CAC art auction this year, including this tile we printed with Terence Hammonds- which was really the piece that got our whole collaboration started. 

For the first time the CAC is accepting online bidding as well, closing at 10pm this Saturday August 24th. The link is here. 

The Lion

One of our favorite pieces at the met will soon be ours with a new project we have in the oven. This is the trial run to see how we can snatch images of historical works and print them in 3-d. Above is a still from the capture and a one inch prototype of the lions head, its glitchy of course and an altered representation but we still think its pretty cool. Also theres a little shot of our dog Chewy, king of the jungle. Learn more about the early porcelain menagerie from Meissen Germany here.

back to the future

Maria Seda-Reeder just wrote an amazing piece about our collaborative practice and current show at the CAC for Cincinnati's CityBeat magazine. (thank you Maria!!) You can check out the entire article here. 

Cincinnati Art Museum

Our small Still[ed] Life has made it to the Dutch Masters wing at the Cincinnati Art Museum! Insane. Could not ask for a better place, anywhere.
(please excuse the cell phone photography we took while the guard wasn't looking)