Feves in Artforum
In a review of Generations: Betty Feves in Artforum, Stephanie Snyder, curator of Reed College’s Cooley Gallery, explores the inner workings of the Museum’s retrospective of the influential Northwest ceramicist. She writes that the exhibition “goes beyond a presentation of Feves’s body of work, illuminating and educating the viewer about experimentation in traditional ceramic techniques.”
Snyder highlights pieces that speak to Feves’ modernist approach, discussing Plate with Five Figures, Garden Wall, and the Bonfire Pot series. She ends her review on Feves’ later raku work and her lasting legacy. “Feves became a highly skilled raku potter with the help of American raku pioneer Hal Riegger, and she regularly hosted firings on her front lawn. In a memoir by Riegger, included in the show, he describes Feves’s tireless exploration of materials as a form of her fellowship with the natural environment––she experimented with decayed basalt, stream silt, pumice, and dried grasses. One of the many treasures on view is a group of raku bonfire pots that Feves created in 1981, four years before her death. Their nuances embody the imperfections of a lifetime.”
Read more about positive press for Betty Feves, such as Bob Hick’s review in Oregon Arts Watch and John Motley’s review in the Oregonian.