Dan McCarthy

(Born) 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
(Based) Brooklyn, NY, USA
DMcC048-1

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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.

Images

(43)
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy, Tomato Gumdrop
  • Dan McCarthy, Sea Dweller
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy, Zig Zag
  • Dan McCarthy, Full House
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy, Stove Pipe
  • Dan McCarthy, Speckled Sundae
  • Dan McCarthy, Ox Blood
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy
  • Dan McCarthy, High Stepper
  • Dan McCarthy, Untitled Facepot #44
  • Dan McCarthy, Space Ghost #12
  • Dan McCarthy, Space Ghost #17
  • Dan McCarthy, Space Ghost #15
  • Dan McCarthy, 1975 Little Cortez
  • Dan McCarthy, 1969 Long Beach Light
  • Dan McCarthy, X Ray Spex
  • Dan McCarthy, Me Me Me
  • Dan McCarthy, Coal Miner
  • Dan McCarthy, Untitled # 1 Lidded Rainbow Facepot
  • Dan McCarthy, Zinc Oxide,
  • Made in Oven – in collaboration with Thierry Boutemy
  • Dan McCarthy, Brussels Pipe Smoker
  • Dan McCarthy, Dakota Pipe Smoker
  • Dan McCarthy, Sun Shine
  • Made in Oven – in collaboration with Thierry Boutemy
  • Dan McCarthy, All Saints
  • Dan McCarthy, Chromelux
  • Dan McCarthy, Rainbow paintings & ceramics
  • Dan McCarthy, Pistachio
  • Dan McCarthy, Fir Mist BirdPot
  • Dan McCarthy, Birdpots
  • Dan McCarthy, Band Camp BirdPot
  • Dan McCarthy, Birdpots
  • Dan McCarthy, Mustard Seed

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by Virgile Janssen

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