Previously On View
Recasting Colonialism: Michelle Erickson Ceramics
Date
May 7, 2023 - October 1, 2023
Contemporary ceramicist Michelle Erickson draws from historic ceramic techniques to create works that expose the persistence of racism and exploitation in post-colonial countries.
Erickson is a second-generation American and grew up near Colonial Williamsburg, where she studied the clay bodies and glaze formulas of ceramics imported to the American colonies. These works were integral to a vast network of investment, mercantile exchange, and material movement under English Colonial oppression.
For this exhibition of sixteen ceramic works, the artist recreates historic forms and palettes but alters the shape and decoration to present her viewpoints in ways that are both witty and jarring. Subjects addressed include the importation of Chinese goods, child soldiers, former U.S. President Donald Trump, police brutality, and the Second Amendment. These works are paired with 17th- through 19th-century Asian and European ceramics from the BMA’s collection that invite viewers to consider the continuation of colonialism in the present.
Organized by Brittany Luberda, Anne Stone Associate Curator of Decorative Arts
Location
Contemporary Wing, 3rd Floor
Select Artworks in this Exhibition
Bentley, Wear and Bourne
Pitcher
Late 18th century
Unidentified
Pitcher
c. 1800
Unidentified
Pitcher
c. 1800
Unidentified
Pitcher
c. 1800
Worcester Porcelain Company, First (Dr. Wall) Period (later Royal Worcester Spode Limited)
Covered Teapot
1760-1770
Meissen Porcelain Factory
Covered Teapot
1740-1750
Unidentified
“Success to the British Arms” Bowl
c. 1756-1763
Unidentified
Jug
c. 1795
Bow Porcelain Factory
Sweetmeat Stand
c. 1760
Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier, Dutch, active 1719-1744
Ewer
c. 1725
Worcester Porcelain Company, First (Dr. Wall) Period (later Royal Worcester Spode Limited)
Sweetmeat Stand
c. 1770
Unidentified
Covered Punch pot
c. 1760
Thomas Whieldon
Teapot
1745-1750
Worcester Porcelain Company, First (Dr. Wall) Period (later Royal Worcester Spode Limited)
Covered Teapot
c. 1760-1775
Leeds Pottery
Grand Platt Menage
c. 1775
A.E.Gray & Co.Ltd.
“Arms of the Shipwright’s Company” Jug
c. 1920
Jingdezhen kilns
Covered Vase Decorated with Overall Flower and Vine Scroll Motif and Mount
18th Century
Jingdezhen kilns
Drum-shaped Covered Jar with Decorative Mounts
c. 1662-1683
Unidentified potter
Urn
c. 1810-1820
Unidentified potter
Urn
c. 1810-1820
Unidentified
Jug
c. 1812
Sewell & Donkin (St. Anthony's Pottery)
Vase
c. 1820
John Phillips & Co.
Jug
c. 1815
Josiah Wedgwood and Sons
Covered Sauce Tureen with Stand
c.1810-1820
Sarreguemines
Plate
1810-1820
Josiah Spode II
“Pecten” Shell Dish
1805-1810
Jingdezhen kilns
Dutch Market Plate Decorated with a Foreign Couple Walking in a Garden
1720-1730
James and Ralph Clews
Landing of Lafayette, Castle Garden
c. 1818-1834
Unidentified
Sauceboat
1740-1750
Unidentified
Pitcher
c. 1800
Unidentified
Teapot
Mid-18th century
Unidentified
Teapot Decorated with Medallions of Chinese Figures
19th century
Jingdezhen kilns
Archaistic Vase Decorated with Dragons, Bats and Peaches of Immortality
Mid-19th century
Jingdezhen kilns
Dutch Market Plate Decorated with a Foreign Couple Walking in a Garden
1720-1730
Covered Teapot
c. 1775