BROOKFIELD — A unique new exhibition of contemporary ceramic work by 15 national profile clay artists will open in the newly renovated Lynn Tendler Bignell Exhibition Gallery at Brookfield Craft on Sunday, January 23. Entitled “Neriage, Nerikome And Beyond: Color In Clay,” the show will open with a public reception from 2 to 4 pm Sunday afternoon and will then remain on view through March 26.

The concept of the group invitational exhibition, according to gallery director Judith T. Russell, is “how contemporary American clay artists are incorporating traditional Japanese pottery colored clay techniques into their work and adding their own [uniquely western] interpretations.” 

Mrs Russell went on to say, “All of these artists achieve their colorful designs not with glazes, but by using colors in the clay itself. These techniques, perfected by the Japanese and called Neriage and Nerikome, have been practiced for centuries in Japan, but now American clay artists are using them in new and creative ways, going way beyond traditional work.”

Work on display includes functional vases, bowls and other container forms plus some purely sculptural work. The participating artists are Romilla Batra, Curtis Benzle, Barbara Cahn, Sunyong Chung, Michael Haley, Susy Siegele, Thomas Hoadley, Naomi Lindenfeld, Karen Orsillo, Jane Peiser, Vince Pitelka, Lee Rubenstein, Carolyn Leung, Alan Steinberg and Makoto Yabe.

The Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery program at Brookfield Craft Center is made possible by the Lynn Tendler Bignell Foundation in support of contemporary American craft artists. The foundation was established in 1995 in honor of Sherman resident Lynn Tendler Bignell, who was a noted crafts collector and patron of fine craftsmanship. The exhibition is also made possible with the support of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, a state agency.

The gallery is located in Brookfield Craft Center’s historic mill building on Route 25, just east of the four corners intersection with Route 7/202. For further information call 775-4526.

Admission to the gallery and crafts center is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; and Sunday, noon to 5.