Writer, curator and educator Garth Johnson will present the Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist Lecture at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 10 via Zoom. The talk, which is free and open to the public, is presented by the School of Art, Art History and Design.
Johnson is the Paul Phillips and Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York, where he oversees their world-renowned ceramics collection. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1997. He was an alumni master in 2015. He received his Master of Fine Arts from Alfred University.
Before moving to Syracuse, Johnson served as the curator of ceramics at the Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center and curator of artistic programs at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. He also spent seven years as a professor at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California.
Johnson is a self-described “craft activist” who explores craft’s influence and relevance in the 21st century. His research interests range from 1960s and 1970s artist-led movements in the field of ceramics to the intersection of clay, video and performance.
His recent exhibitions at the Everson include “The Floating Bridge: Postmodern and Contemporary Japanese Ceramics;” “Renegades and Reformers: American Art Pottery;” and “Earth Piece: Conceptual and Performative Works in Clay.”
The remaining spring schedule includes:
Feb. 24: Jessie Hemmons, interdisciplinary, 5:30 p.m. Hemmons is a street artist and craftivist in Philadelphia known as Ishknits.
March 3: Tarrah Kajnak, photography, 5:30 p.m. Born in Lima, Peru, Kajnak is currently associate professor of art and director of the Monroe Center for Social Inquiry on Racial Justice at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.
March 11: Art History panel featuring Sampada Aranke, assistant professor of art history, School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Alexis Salas, assistant professor of art history, New Mexico State University; Julia Neal, lecturer in African American Art History, Georgia State University; and Kieran Jack Wilson, photographer and activist in Lincoln, 5:30 p.m. The panel is titled “Serious Play: Radical Publications and Their Histories.” As paper zines, signage, and print material continue to give form to the current set of global crises, this panel examines the new histories that emerge when we examine distributable print media in terms of crisis and social movements.
March 24: Deb Schwartzkopf, ceramics, 5:30 p.m. Schwartzkopf is a Seattle-based studio potter making fine porcelain tableware through Rat City Studios. Ceramics Monthly awarded her Ceramic Artist of the Year in 2019.
March 31: Joel Damon, foundations, 5:30 p.m. Damon is co-founder and co-curator of Project Project, an independent, DIY contemporary arts space in South Omaha, Nebraska.
April 7: Noel Anderson, printmaking, 5:30 p.m. Anderson is area head of printmaking in New York University’s Steinhardt Department of Art and Art Professions. Anderson utilizes print-media and arts-based-research to explore philosophical inquiry methodologies.
April 14: Kristian Bjornard, foundations, 5:30 p.m. Bjornard is a designer and educator with a focus on sustainability. He is the director of the Office of Kristian Bjornard, a graphic design practice focusing on books, identities, websites and digital tools.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln School of Art, Art History and Design’s Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series brings notable artists, scholars and designers to Nebraska each semester to enhance the education of students. Underwritten by the Hixson-Lied Endowment with additional support from other sources, the series enriches the culture of the state by providing a way for Nebraskans to interact with luminaries in the fields of art, art history and design.
For more information on the series, contact the School of Art, Art History and Design at 402-472-5522.
