Tempered Beasts

Tempered Beasts will explore expressions of the human condition through the use of animal imagery. Animals permeate the ceramic lexicon in both contemporary practice and throughout history—from cave paintings to garden protectors, visceral sculptures to playful vessels. Our relationship with animal beings is complicated as their role in our collective experience shifts from food source to family member, wild creature to domesticated friend. Humans determine the value placed on life—whether of our planet or its inhabitants—while often discounting our own animal instincts. The artists included in Tempered Beasts wrestle with questions of consumption, commodification, and identification by creating animal forms that capture the very essence of what makes us human—and animal. Participating artists include: Alessandro Gallo, Crystal Morey, Lindsay Pichaske, Adriel Tong, and Russell Wrankle.