A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

A Life Shaped in Clay
“Gerry Williams Retrospective: A Life
in Clay,” an exhibition of 75 works from
the span of his career, will celebrate the
life and work of one of New Hampshire’s
most revered and respected artists.
The exhibition, curated by Jon Keenan,
chair and Joyce J. Kolligian Distinguished
Professor of the Fine and Performing
Arts, opens on Thursday, Sept. 15, with
an artist’s reception from 5 to 7 p.m. in
the Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery at
the Sawyer Fine Arts Center. A film about
Williams, “An American Potter,” will be
featured at 7 p.m. in Gordon Hall. The
exhibition, free and open to the public,
will continue until Saturday, Oct. 22.
Named in 1990 as New Hampshire’s
first artist laureate, Williams has been a
model and source of inspiration for potters
for nearly 50 years. His life and work
have drawn on a diverse set of roots: the
American Arts and Crafts Movement, the
post-World War II rebirth of craft-based
studio art, and his early years in India,
where his parents were educational missionaries.
The experience of living his
most formative years in another culture
shaped Williams’ response to modern life
in America and his chosen work. Gandhi’s
example, especially his emphasis on the
practical and symbolic role of basic craft
practice, made an indelible impression.
“There is a lot of the spirit of India in
my work, though not necessarily in the
form of pottery. The political effigies that
I do certainly come from my India experience
because I look after them not as
sculpture, but as folk art,” Williams says.
“The ambiance, the dignity of crafts, the
importance of manual labor, and the
spiritual necessity of the humanistic core
of crafts all come from my background
in India.”
Professor Keenan describes Williams
as a longtime friend and mentor and
expresses appreciation to the artist and
his family. “Gerry has supported and
inspired the Ceramics Program at Colby-
Sawyer College for many years,” he says.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to
host this exhibition as a tribute to Gerry’s
important and venerable career.”
Exploring River Communities
In their field study course on River Communities in May, Biology and Environmental Studies students and faculty
members rafted down the Colorado and Green rivers to study the geology, biology and historical artifacts.
(Above, l to r): Ashley Reynolds ’08, Jeff Marc-Aurele ’11 and Ryan Bernstein ’13
pass through Grey Canyon while rafting down the Green River in Utah. (At right, l
to r) Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Laura Alexander, students and
two river guides relax after paddling through Class IV rapids in Desolation Canyon
on the Green River.
This stoneware vessel with incised lines is called
“Mythopetic Form” and was created by Gerry
Williams in 1999. The 25 x 12 inch piece resides in
the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, N.H.
SUMMER 2011 11
COURTESY OF CURRIER MUSEUM OF ART
PHOTOS: Nick Baer