“Paula Winokur: Geological Sites” A survey of work in porcelain

About the Show

Paula Winokur: Geological Sites is a compact survey of sculpture in porcelain by this internationally recognized, Philadelphia-based artist. Opening with a selection of intimately scaled boxes and panoramas from the early 1970s, this exhibition delineates her evolution toward increasingly large-scale, wall-mounted shelves, shrine-like ledges, and fireplace surrounds. In addition to showcasing a new monumental, floor-based work made expressly for this exhibition, the show will feature a selection of recent monoprints made with wet clay that suggest precisely rendered, photographic landscapes. Porcelain—traditionally associated with cups, saucers, and fragile figurines—in Winokur’s hands, becomes a volatile substance that yields a wealth of readings that arise from an organic fusion of material and subject. Both embodying and describing the geological phenomena that inspire her, these works evoke the timeless silence and awe for the sensual skin of the earth.

Paula Winokur (born 1935) has received international acclaim for her contributions to the field of ceramics. Examples of her porcelain sculpture can be found in permanent collections across the United States as well as notable collections abroad. Since the early 1970s she has exhibited her work at venues worldwide. In 1986, her practice was distinguished by her inclusion in “Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical,” the inaugural exhibition for the American Craft Museum (now the Museum of Arts and Design) in New York. A graduate of Tyler School of Art (Elkins Park, Pennsylvania), Winokur has been recognized with two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (in 1976 and 1988) as well as numerous grants, including two from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (the most recent in 2004). In 2002 she was appointed a fellow with the American Crafts Council. Winokur served as professor of ceramics at Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College) from 1973 to her retirement in 2003.

Brochure with text by Sandra Firmin, Curator, University of Buffalo Art Gallery, available.