Lee Hazelgrove & Dicke Robins
There Is No A. I. In Ceramics

July 28 - August 19, 2023

Joint exhibition of Saggar Fired Vessels and A. I. Generated material manipulated into hand cut collage

Artists’ Statement

Two friends with an equal passion for their work with two completely different approaches, medium and process. Each artist will be showing their individual bodies of work and in addition a large collaborative piece will be part of the exhibition.

Richard Via "Dicke" Robins 
A.I. says Hi

Robins was born in Richmond and raised in Baltimore. He returned to Richmond in his early twenties and spent the better part of his career in the Healthcare field but continued to create art throughout his career and into retirement.

“I have been drawing, painting and producing  mixed media analog collage for over 40 years. My influences include Picasso, Matisse and Hopper and more recently Pop surrealism. I consider my  pieces to be a conversation between myself  and those other artists whose work I have manipulated or reinterpreted. The pieces are meant to be fun and hopefully thought provoking.

With the introduction  of Artificial Intelligence applied to Art, my work and vision have expanded exponentially and I can't wait to see where this new tool will take me”

— Richard Via "Dicke" Robins 

Instagram: @dick.robins.92

Lee Hazelgrove
Peeling Back the Layers

Artist Statement

As a studio Potter for over 30 years much of my fascination and exploration has centered  around that elusive duality in ceramics, between the form and how it relates to surface, and  how that relationship dictates the success or failure of the vessel. As a young man, after  spending several years exploring traditional glazing at a variety of temperatures I came to  understand that the aesthetic I was searching for would require a more primitive and perhaps  random surface to compliment the shape and form of my pieces. Over the years I have  explored dozens of alternative firing methods including Raku, pit firing, horse hair firing and  barrel firing. But most recently I have become absorbed with and dedicated to an investigation  of Saggar firing.  

Traditionally saggar firing is the use of combustible materials, packed tightly inside a small clay  house, built around the waiting vessel. Fired inside the kiln, these clay houses hold the  combustibles as they burn in an oxygen deprived atmosphere right against the pot, resulting in  random patterns colors and reduced areas of black and white. Most recently I've been  exploring the use of aluminum foil packages around the vessel replacing the traditional clay  housing, holding within the package various combustibles, minerals, oxides, and the vast array of natural ingredients that can bring color to the surface of the vessel. These aluminum foil  housings are fired slowly in a large gas kiln to 1,300°, then allowed to slowly cool overnight. The  following day is often like Christmas where layers of foil are peeled back one after the other to  reveal the gift that has been left inside, on the surface of each piece.  

One of the greatest gifts a studio artist has, is the opportunity to explore the self, the inner life,  through the creation of the tangible object. The exploration of beauty and the search for  transcendence in our work often goes hand in hand with understanding who we are, and how  we relate to the world. The peeling back of the layers of foil has come to represent for me a  peeling back of my own layers, allowing the truth of what lies within to reveal itself more and  more. Sometimes the vessel holds a sense of grace, delicacy, integrity and truth. But  sometimes it's just black all over and nothing came out right at all…so we start all over again,  and keep trying.

— Lee Hazelgrove

Biography 

Lee Hazelgrove has been a studio potter living in Richmond for nearly 40 years. He studied  ceramics at Virginia Commonwealth University and subsequently apprenticed with Richmond  Artist Robin Cage, studied in Spain with Master Potter Seth Cardew, and made numerous trips  to Central America where he worked with and learned from the potters of Nicaragua and Costa  Rica. Much of his career has included teaching at numerous Art Centers, Colleges and  Universities. His work is included in many private collections and several museums and he has  had solo exhibitions or been featured in galleries all over America and Europe.

Website LeeHazelgrove.com
Instagram: @LeeHazelgrove
Facebook: Lee Hazelgrove Ceramic Designs