Celebrate the Historic Past and Contemporary Present of Clay Art Center with Concurrent Exhibitions

Clay Art Center is thrilled to present concurrent exhibitions Finding the Center: The Clay Art Center Historic Collection, and Made in Earnest: Ceramic Work by Jon Townley in the galleries from Saturday, April 25 – May 31, 2026.

Please join us for concurrent Opening Receptions on Saturday, April 25, from 5:00-7:00pm.

Finding The Center captures a snapshot of the earliest days of Clay Art Center: who was here, what they were making, and, perhaps most importantly, the convictions that lay at the heart of their work. In creating a cooperative studio dedicated to the advancement of ceramic art, the founding collective of Clay Art Center reflected wider cultural currents that would come to define the mid-century, and laid the groundwork for a stronghold of ceramics education and access that continues its work nearly seven decades later.

This exhibition features pottery from the Clay Art Center’s historic collection that has been little-shown in the past, in addition to archival documents that illuminate the thoughts and hopes of the intrepid artists who made them. The work in this collection is often still germinal, sometimes even unrecognizable in respect to many of the artists’ later, celebrated output.

Grounded in the objects on display, the exhibition will tell the story of those who came before, their impact on this place and the world of ceramics, and how Clay Art Center students and artists stand on the shoulders of giants.

Featured Artists: Viola Frey, Tashiko Takaezu, Makoto Yabe, F. Carlton Ball, Harding Black, Trude Petri-Raben, Ted Randall, Jeff Schlanger, and more.

Made in Earnest: Ceramic Work by Jon Townley. This solo exhibition presents handmade ceramic sculpture and pottery, and is the inaugural exhibition in Clay Art Center’s Curator’s Choice series.

In presenting this exhibition concurrently with Finding the Center, which highlights work from Clay Art Center’s archive collection, Exhibitions Director Regina Farrell-Fagan says, “Jon’s body of work has evolved into a perfect synthesis of form, technique, and mastery of ceramic media, without ever leaving behind that which inspired him from the earliest of days of his career. The work resonates with the Mid-Century aesthetics of Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ruth Duckworth, Brancusi, and others, where form comes first. Jon’s contemporary artistic voice speaks to the same forces that compelled artists in the earliest days of Clay Art Center to make, and to pursue a line of creative enquiry that can only be answered in clay.”

Artist Bio

Jon began throwing pots in high school at the age of fifteen and went on to receive his BFA in ceramics from Ohio State University, where he developed an understanding of form and technique through studying the Japanese ceramics tradition. Since 2010 he has maintained his studio in Katonah, New York, developing an original body of decorative and sculptural ceramics using the techniques of throwing and altering, coil construction, innovative slab forming, and carving. Jon has taught multiple workshops and currently teaches hand building and advanced throwing classes at Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York.

Artist’s Statement

“Nearly everything I make has certain core themes in common. These include my fascination with how the forces of wind, water and erosion sculpt stone, my wonderment at the forms inside sea shells, my curiosity about the growth patterns of trees and plants, and my delight in the convolutions and articulations of bones. While I’ve spent much of my life working as a professional illustrator and designer, in my ceramics I rarely apply traditional decorative effects or graphic imagery, preferring instead to enliven my pieces primarily through form and sculptural gesture.”

Clay Art Center is dedicated to education, creativity, and community engagement through clay by providing an inclusive space for learning, studio practice, exhibitions, personal growth, and professional development in ceramic arts. It is located in the heart of Port Chester at 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10573. Join Clay Art Center classes, and exhibitions, and shop online at clayartcenter.org.

Requests for photos, or more information: communcations@clayartcenter.org