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Reflection of the Flame
Ceramic artist and instructor, John Balistreri discovered along with his students that when the wooden arch supports from the interior of the kiln were removed the space left behind resembled a piece of sculpture. This discovery inspired Balistreri to attempt to record an entire firing. Reflection of the Flame is the result of this discovery by Balistreri and his students. It is the actual physical documentation of a wood-firing event which took place in the artist?s kiln in Denver, Colorado. Combining an ancient Chinese and Japanese wood-firing technique called anagama with contemporary sculpture, Balistreri successfully fulfilled his goal of recording a firing in its entirety. The resulting 60-foot stone-colored sculpture consists of 16 individual ceramic pieces. This work represents a rare accomplishment in uniting the old with the new on a grand scale.
Autumn Evening
For Undierlige Mursten 6-428 (Unusual Brick 6-428)
The individual ceramic arms are stored in 17 totes, wrapped in newsprint. Each tote is tagged for identification. There is an additional 18th tote with several broken parts that can potetnitally be repaired. There are 5 segments, each labeled according to the order of installation.
Middle May
Jacobshagen is an alumnus of Kansas City Art Institute and former illustrator for Hallmark cards. He is an esteemed member of the Art and Art History Department at the University of Nebraska where he received the Outstanding Research and Creativity Award. His paintings have been included in more than 50 group exhibitions in Spain, West Germany and the United States. Galleries in the heartland, east coast and west coast represent Jacobshagen. Jacobshagen succeeds in honoring traditional landscape painting while simultaneously infusing contemporary concepts into his work. Middle May typifies the immense sky paintings for which he?s become so well-known. The modern notion of exploring one?s memories, emotions and relationships separates his style of painting from traditional landscape painting. Middle May demonstrates how Jacobshagen?s paintings can elicit a host of emotions ranging from the romantic to the nostalgic.