FERRIN GALLERY  * 437 North Street  * Pittsfield  *  MA 01201

Contact: Leslie Ferrin

Tel. 413-446-0614        Email: leslie.ferrin@gmail.com www.ferringallery.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CHRISTA ASSAD and JESSICA HESS presents

“STREET WISE” in THE PURSUIT OF PORCELAIN

Ferrin Gallery presents Christa Assad and Jessica Hess’s “STREET WISE” in The Pursuit of Porcelain, an installation of ceramic sculpture, photography and works on paper at the Park Avenue Armory at SOFA New York, April 14 – 17, 2011 and Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA, May 28 – July 23, 2011.

For The Pursuit of Porcelain, Christa Assad and Jessica Hess have collaborated on a new body of painted ceramic objects and related canvases, “STREET WISE” to be shown in a staged setting inspired by the historic 18^th century tradition of the porcelain room. For this installation, sculptor/designer Christa Assad created a series of twenty five porcelain spray cans painted by Jessica Hess with imagery drawn from graffiti culture.

Assad explains “Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, I was strongly influenced by the Steel City’s dying industry and the grit of these oft-abandoned sites. Tagged with graffiti and other remnants of trespassers and squatters, the physical remains of these sites serve as archaeological artifacts in the study of human behavior and societal evolution.”

First trained as a studio potter, Assad currently uses the wheel to quickly generate “blanks” of identifiable objects from the urban landscape. Collaborating with other artists using the exquisite corpse concept, in which one artist responds in a call and response to the other, her porcelain blanks are the beginnings of lively visual dialogues and social commentary.  Glamorizing an ordinary object, the spray can, led her to collaborate with San Francisco-based painter, Jessica Hess. “Our shared vision is to recreate urban street scenes in trompe l’oeil realism, involving faux found objects of ceramic and painted surfaces, stenciled “sidewalks”, and “tagged” gallery walls. I create the objects and Hess paints their surfaces. As visual documentarians, we are working to bring street art indoors to archive and make permanent these otherwise transitory public works.”

Working independently in the Bay Area, Assad in Berkeley and Hess in downtown San Francisco, each artist is firmly established in their respective careers with work in numerous private and public collections.  Assad received her MFA in ceramics from Indiana University in 2000 and has taught throughout the US and internationally while maintaining an active showing schedule from her home base.  Hess received her BFA in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design in 2003.  She recently moved to San Francisco from Boston to exhibit and participate in the west coast art scene that combines street art with fine art based in illustration.  Hess is currently represented by White Walls, the leading gallery in San Francisco in the urban art movement that stems from street art and graffiti art.

WHERE & WHEN:

SOFA New York

April 14 – 17^th, 2011

Park Avenue Armory  *  Park Avenue at 67th Street  *  New York  *  NY

www.armoryonpark.org

Dates & Hours

Thursday, April 14 11 am – 7 pm

Friday, April 15 11 am – 6 pm

Saturday, April 16 11 am – 7 pm

Sunday, April 17 12 noon – 6 pm

ARTIST DISCUSSION: Christa Assad & Matt Nolen

AIDAshed
3 pm Friday, April 15

VIP Lounge, SOFA NEW YORK

RSVP – 269.405.5174 and http://www.sofaexpo.com/salon/

Matt Nolen, President of the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and artist Christa Assad discuss Assad’s recent artist residency in Israel, and AIDAshed, a partnership between the Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts (AIDA) and Watershed to produce a two-week residency program in Israel based on the philosophy of the Watershed residency. The residency provides North American ceramic artists and their Israeli counterparts the opportunity to live and work together while sharing their ideas, thoughts and techniques. Refreshments provided.

VIP Lounge, SOFA New York

SOFA CHATS with Christa Assad and Molly Hatch

6:00 – 8:30 pm Friday, April 15 New Collectors/Young Designers Night

6:30pm & 7:45pm Christa Assad

6:00pm & 7:00pm Molly Hatch

Ferrin Gallery Inbooth #300

RSVP for New Collectors/Young Designers Night

269.405.5174 and http://www.sofaexpo.com/ncyd/register.htm

A lively program of discussions with artists about their most recent work and projects. Presented by exhibitors in their booths throughout the evening, this is a unique opportunity to hear from some of the most exciting artists working in their field including Christa Assad, whose collaborative works are based on graffiti culture and urban detritus, and Molly Hatch, ceramicist and designer partnering with Anthropologie on several upcoming projects.

PURSUIT OF PORCELAIN:

“The Pursuit of Porcelain” is an installation of ceramic sculpture, photography and works on paper, a staged version of an 18^th century porcelain room filled with a collection of figurines, plates and objects.  The installation, conceived by sculptor Chris Antemann includes a room of her own sculpture and photography and interpretations of the concept by invited artists who share a passion for porcelain and its history.

Selections from “The Pursuit of Porcelain” will be presented at various locations:

SOFA New York, Park Avenue Armory, NYC, April 14 – 17, 2011

SFFAF San Francisco, Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason, May 19 – 22, 2011

ArtMRKT – Concourse Exhibition Center, May 19 – 22, 2011

Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA, May 28 – July 23, 2011

Ferrin Gallery, established 1979, is nationally known as a contemporary gallery specializing in figural sculpture and studio ceramics. The gallery works closely with private collectors, institutions and the media as a source for works by both established and emerging artists. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, it is equidistant from New York City and Boston.

HOURS: By Appointment through May 25, Thurs – Saturday, 11-5:00 through June, Open Daily July – August.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Christa Assad and Jessica Hess

“Street Wise”

Painted Porcelain Cans 9 – 14” high

Photo Credit: Jessica Hess

High Resolution Images Available Upon Request

I’ll be taking a bite out of the Big Apple this week at SOFA NY, hosted at the Park Avenue Armory, and all the fun and shennanigans sure to surround the show…I’m especially excited to debut my new collaborative works, porcelain spray cans on which painter Jessica Hess has laid her magical brushes. Here’s a sneak peek, before they even hit the floor at SOFA — hope to see you there in person! xo christa