Dan McCarthy

McCarthy’s ceramics are intentionally low-tech, simple and direct. His tools are minimal, ice lolly sticks, forks, spoons – with a process that favours touch; and what drives him is the emotionally intuitive handling of wet, heavy clay that is constantly in a state of drying out, instinctively working this material into shapes with a ‘sense of immediacy and buoyant spirit’. His approach employs multiple glaze firings that bring to life gold and silver leaf, gold and silver lustre, and rainbow-coloured oil and water-based paint. The results are often vivid and scintillating. His playful works take the form of smiley-faced individual portraits – a series that he fittingly calls ‘Facepots’. It’s hard not to wonder if these cheery vessels have a darker undertone, one that points towards modes of vacuous consumerism that keep us smiling and jolly but, ultimately, hollow and empty. As brightly coloured, unstable glazes crackle and run, these objects could be seen as symbols of a dysfunctional veneer of happiness that doesn’t penetrate quite as deeply as we’d hope.

Recent solos shows were held at Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO USA; rodolphe janssen, Knokke, Belgium; Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY USA; Venus over Los Angeles (Los Angeles); Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY USA; Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY USA and Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, Paris, France. Recent Group shows include 100 Sculptures, Anonymous Gallery, New York, NY USA; Can’t Wait To Meet You, This Is Primary, Miami, FL USA; Demons, Spirits and Other Creatures, Daniel Blau Gallery, Munich, Germany; Show 1, Airfield Gallery, Kingston, New York, NY USA; Pacific Coast Ceramics, Galeria Mascota, Aspen, CO USA; 6 Foot, Hot and Glassy, Tripoli Gallery, Wainscott, NY USA; The Essential Goods, Fisher Parrish Gallery, Brooklyn, NY USA; Pageant of Inconceivables, Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, Byrd cliffe, Woodstock, NY USA and Summer Trip, Tripoli Gallery of Contemporary Art, Southampton, NY USA.

His work is part of public collection such as ICA, Miami, FL USA; Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY USA; The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens, Greece and Musee d’Arte Moderne de Paris, Paris, France.