June 25 - July 26, 2003
Bellas Artes, which has represented Richard DeVore since 1986, is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work. Referring to the title of this exhibition, DeVore stated, "Historically pottery has been about corporeal survival — literally and symbolically. My intention is to perpetuate this symbol in a context relevant to our times."
For half a century DeVore has been working with clay and focusing his creative exploration on the formal subtleties and quiet gestures of vessels in two basic forms, the low bowl and the tall vessel. A minimalist, DeVore has pared down his artistic vocabulary to a few essential conventions which he has invested with the maximum formal significance. The interiors of the vessels have hidden spaces with openings which draw the gaze into unfathomable mysteries. The colors and the unadorned surfaces refer to the earth and the body. DeVore's accomplishment has been the establishment of pottery as an abstract art form in which every surface, contour, rim and interior is rich in visual meaning.
DeVore's pots are in over 40 museum collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Cleveland Museum of Art, the National Museum of Art in Washington D.C., the Louvre's National Collection of Contemporary Art in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.