Stephen Kobasa Photo
Stephen Rodriguez, porcelain and stoneware, 2009
Here is a mortal version of God’s workshop, with its multiplying forms of clay, each at that intersection of grace and fragility that help us to bear our own impermanence. Standing in this Fair Haven pottery, I was reminded of why I thought to invent this series one year ago. While I stand grateful for every response my work has inspired, a number of people have been moved to suggest topics for inclusion. That was not a particular need of my exercise. The project was very much a personal inquiry, if not a private one. With a single acknowledged exception, all the subjects so far have been on my own initiative. This was not a claim of authority, but simply of example. It was not my intent to function as a surrogate for whatever readers I might claim, or to deliver a judgement on what they thought was worthy of note. Rather, I wanted to invite a certain attentive wandering in the city that would allow anyone to compile their own catalog of lessons.
This is particularly the case with working artists such as Stephen Rodriguez. Here was a venue where I could make a case for splendid work that we have close at hand, and that often struggles to make itself known. As I have argued elsewhere, annual events like Open Studios are not sufficient models for patronage in a community which believes in supporting the artists within it. Such relationships need the long term, witnessing the ways in which an artist’s work grows and innovates, meeting it with enthusiasm and curiosity, and investing in it as much as time and fortune will allow (which, in the crude economic sense of the latter, is more than one might imagine). Several venues in the city, such as the Jennifer Jane Gallery and the City Gallery, have gathered shows of work costing one hundred dollars or less. Artspace is giving new prominence to its Flatfile collection, much of it by local artists, that is accessible in every sense of the word (see the show “Conspectus I” currently on view at the gallery for a lively selection of examples).
At the beginning of these lessons, I had no particular sense of how extended in time they might prove to be. The patience and encouragement from my editors and colleagues at the Independent show no sign of waning, so I will test them for a while longer. There are still things for me to learn.
Thanks for the brief article on Stephen Rodriguez and for listing the Jennifer Jane Gallery the City Gallery, and the Conspectus I show at Artspace. I'm always eager to know more about what local artists and especially potters are doing.
Does Stephen have a website? Are there ways to get more info about all these?