At Fuller Craft Museum, Clay and More
Nestled in an idyllic setting overlooking Upper Porter Pond in Brockton, Massachusetts, the Fuller Craft Museum is a center for the field of craft in the Northeast. Established in 1969 as the Brockton Art Center-Fuller Memorial, the institution shifted its focus exclusively to contemporary craft in 2004. Twenty-two years on, this special expertise continues to benefit the region. While an art history student at Providence College, I interned at Fuller Craft, an experience that set me on a path to cultural work. Recently I visited the Museum’s latest exhibition and was reminded of what makes it so impactful.
Fuller Craft is a beguiling place to explore. The elegant building was designed by J. Timothy Anderson and Associates and utilizes warm materials like slate and natural wood finishes complementing the artworks it exhibits. Light-filled and punctuated by glassed-in courtyards, the venue alone is worthy of a long visit. The shows mounted at the Museum, which range in media from things like ceramics and woodworking to fiber and installation, are compelling offerings focused on making.
Among its current exhibitions, Fuller Craft is presenting More Clay! The Power of Repetition, a traveling exhibition curated by Rebecca Cross. Previously showcased at the American University Art Museum and the Academy Art Museum, the show is an exploration of what ceramics can do at large scale. The exhibition includes work by Zimra Beiner, Bean Finneran, David Hicks, Kahlil Robert Irving, Walter McConnell, J.J. McCracken, Kate Roberts, and Vanessa Ryerse. Spanning several galleries, the exhibition continues through February 7, 2027.
Detail of Walter McConnell’s A Theory of Everything: Odd Lot Ancestries. Photo by Michael Rose.
Asked what excites her most about the exhibition, the Museum’s Artistic Director and Chief Curator Beth McLaughlin says, “It’s always exciting to host a traveling exhibition because it gives us the opportunity to reimagine the installation in ways that respond to Fuller Craft’s unique galleries. The sheer scale, ambition, and visual presence of the works command the space, while creating unexpected dialogues among the objects.”
One of the most evocative works in the show is Kate Roberts’ Gates to Nowhere, a delicate installation that uses unfired porcelain, fiber, and fishing line to delineate mysterious gates whose point of demarcation is unknown. Sensitively installed in one of Fuller Craft’s skylit galleries, the work catches the light in a way that is remarkable.
Considering the role that More Clay! plays in the mission of this craft-centered institution, the Museum’s Executive Director Jennifer Chrzanowski explains that, “This exhibition is a perfect embodiment of our mission to challenge perceptions and build appreciation of the material world. These eight artists are transforming a humble, sustainable material into something truly monumental through accumulation and repetition, and that kind of boundary-pushing work is what we're here to celebrate.”
Perhaps the most monumental piece in the exhibition is Walter McConnell’s A Theory of Everything: Odd Lot Ancestries which assembles a collection of pop culture and religious figurines into a glossy mound. The piece consists of casts of commercial molds as well as scanned and prototyped figures from live models. It speaks to a kind of mass production usually reserved for the industrial rather than art disciplines, meaning that its visual impact both as a collection and as lustrous individual objects is twofold.
Kate Roberts’ delicate installation Gates to Nowhere catching the light in the gallery. Photo by Michael Rose.
Considering what she hopes visitors experience when looking at More Clay!, McLaughlin states, “I hope visitors leave with a renewed sense of what clay can do. The exhibition shows how a humble material can be transformed into works of remarkable scale and beauty, and I hope people are inspired by the creativity, dedication, and persistence of the artists behind these extraordinary installations.”
More Clay! is an exhibition that will make many viewers rethink how clay can be leveraged to make things that are big, complex, and immersive. These are not standalone sculptures or discrete examples of pottery but complicated and multifaceted artworks that take up space. Beyond this exhibition, the Museum is hosting other shows simultaneously that highlight the breadth of craft, ranging from a fiber installation by Jeila Gueramian that is reminiscent of a rainforest to largescale flowers that dot the inner and outer courtyards made specifically for Fuller Craft by New York artist Daina Shobrys.
Fuller Craft Museum is a place that is ripe for exploration and it offers opportunities that are attractive to diverse audiences, from ceramics experts, to curious art enthusiasts, to families with children. In the Museum’s current array of shows, there are ample opportunities for younger viewers to form meaningful and rich connections through close looking and curiosity. And beyond the Museum’s walls, its campus invites visitors to wander into natural environments that host public artworks.
One of artist Daina Shobrys’ large-scale fiber floral arrangements displayed in one of Fuller Craft’s courtyards. Photo by Michael Rose.
Looking forward, Chrzanowski is excited about seeing the organization welcome neighbors and new visitors alike. She says, “I’m really looking forward to the American Craft Fair on June 13th and 14th, and Fuller After Dark: Crafted in Culture on June 27th, which builds on the energy of last year's debut. Since joining Fuller Craft, my focus has been on deepening our connection to the community, and events like these are exactly the direction I want to keep growing in.”
Passionate staff, strong exhibitions, inviting programs, and a unique campus set Fuller Craft apart from peer institutions and make it a particularly special place. And one that has many exciting things in store for the future.
Fuller Craft Museum is presenting More Clay! The Power of Repetition through February 7, 2027. The Museum is open Tuesday - Sunday from 10am - 5pm. Find details on all its current exhibitions and plan your visit at www.fullercraft.org.
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