EAST HAMPTON NY.- Lisa Perry announced The Lightness of Being: Ceramics by Leah Kaplan, Sabra Moon Elliot, Yoona Hur and Yuko Nishikawa, at
Onna House from August 6-September 3, 2022. The exhibition also features Katherine Glenday, presented in partnership with Ateliers Courbet.
Onna House is a 1960s modernist home restored by Perry and founded in 2021, unveiled in the summer of 2022 as a space to create visibility and appreciation for the work of women-identifying artists and designers. The Lightness of Being celebrates five extraordinary female ceramicists under one roof, each exploring environment, healing and movement in unique ways, while in dialogue with one another.
Cape Town-born Katherine Glenday’s porcelain pieces defy their materiality, stretching the matter to its thinnest; their translucent skin enthralls with natural light while their silhouettes embody the artist’s gesture as it quietly evokes movement. Leah Kaplan is an American ceramicist who also explores porcelain; her signature porcelain vessels blend fluidity with minimalism, belying intricate construction that beckons viewers to take a closer look. Her process is rooted in age-old handbuilding techniques, such as pinching, coiling and slab-building, but her deep dive into porcelain’s materiality often yields surprising results. Bridgehampton-based Sabra Moon Elliot explores the play between dichotomy and balance in her ceramic work, which is created through the repetition of loosely painted or sculpted geometric shapes. New York City-based Yoona Hur moved from Seoul, South Korea to the United States at a young age. The desire to deepen her Asian identity and spirituality drove her to explore nature and meditation across ancient ceramics, traditional Korean arts and Eastern philosophy. Brooklyn-based Yuko Nishikawa creates awe-inspiring environments and installations exploring color and texture, typically working with mobiles and ceramic sculptures.
Lisa Perry has been a long-time advocate of women's rights and a lover and creator of design in many forms. Onna House combines her passions under one roof while supporting and fostering the growth of women artists; The Lightness of Being continues that support in an effort to highlight five women creating profound bodies of work. Inspired by the Japanese sensibilities of the house’s architecture, Perry named the space Onna (own-ah), as an homage to the word woman in Japanese. Today the work at Onna House varies widely, bringing together works by international and U.S. artists and designers, including local artists from the Hamptons.
The Lightness of Being is Onna House’s third and final summer exhibition. Please visit www.onnahouse.com for more information.
"My mother owned an art gallery outside of Chicago in the early '70s and she specialized in ceramics, which was more commonly referred to as pottery back then. I was immediately drawn to these vessels and their unique shapes, sizes and textures. Fast-forward to today, I'm thrilled to present a ceramics show at Onna House, showcasing work from five female artists who share the same sensibilities of the artists who my mother showcased those many years ago, when I first fell in love with these pots! I'm especially proud to highlight women artists, a focus that sadly wasn’t seen in my mom's era." - Lisa Perry, Founder of Onna House
