Ocean of Ink, River of Fire
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Nicki Ferramosca
(202) 994-9023

"OCEAN OF INK, RIVER OF FIRE" AT GW'S UNIVERSITY GALLERY

October 10 - November 30, 2001

EVENT: The George Washington University Art Gallery presents "Ocean of Ink, River of Fire," an exhibition featuring painting and calligraphy by Stephen Addiss and ceramics by Randy Edmonson, Scott Meredith, Cricket Edmonson, John Jessiman and Stephen Addiss.

WHEN: Wednesday, October 10 - Friday, November 30, 2001 Gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Also open selected hours in conjunction with MPA Auditorium events

WHERE: The George Washington University Art Gallery Media and Public Affairs Building, 2nd Floor 805 21st Street, NW Washington, D.C. (Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro, blue and orange lines)

COST: The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Background:

In participation with National Arts and Humanities month (October), GW's University Art Gallery will exhibit "Ocean of Ink, River of Fire," which embodies the spirit of creativity, culture and community practiced in the museum world.

"Ocean of Ink, River of Fire" speaks to the collective creative spirit, imbued with a tradition that goes back more than a millennium. The exhibition hopes to educate the viewer about the heightened relationship between the painted image and the written word so evident in Asian art. Stephen Addiss' most recent book, Old Taoist, represents a collaboration with Jonathan Chaves, professor of Chinese and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at GW.

Ocean of Ink describes the section of the exhibition devoted to the calligraphy of Stephen Addiss. After studying with Ishikawa Kako and Chiang Chao-sheng, Stephen Addiss has practiced brush painting and calligraphy for thirty-five years. The control of the brush necessary for calligraphy has influenced his paintings, while the freedom of the painting techniques that he has developed influences his calligraphy. Both of these two dimensional arts have also gained from his work in ceramics, where varieties of textures are a feature of his ceramic vessels. He now serves as professor of art and Tucker-Boatwright Professor of Humanities at The University of Richmond in Virginia and has published more than 10 books on Japanese art.

"For many years I have been fascinated by the traditional East Asian idea of the literati scholar-poet-artist, whose creativity is deepened by study of the past, time spent in nature, and the enrichment of other forms of art," said Stephen Addiss.

River of Fire is a group of five ceramists, Randy Edmonson, Scott Meredith, Cricket Edmonson, John Jessiman, and Stephen Addiss, who work in central Virginia. They fire their pots in an anagama (20-foot long wood-burning tunnel kiln) for four days and nights. This technique was developed many hundreds of years ago in Korea and Japan. It allows the firing to play an important role in the finished product. The path of the flame and the falling of wood ash, while not totally random, are never completely predictable.

For more information about the exhibition please contact Lenore Miller at GW's University Art Gallery at (202) 994-1525.

-GW-

	Randy Edmonson Lidded Jar stoneware with feldspar inclusions 8" high x 8" diam.
	Scott Meredith Serving Dish porcelain with red slip and Shino glaze 4" high
Click on images below to enlarge
	Installation view of Ocean of Ink, River of Fire University Art Gallery, 805 21st Street, NW
	Installation view of Ocean of Ink, River of Fire Stephen Addiss Tsubo (Storage Jar) Anagama-fired Shigaraki clay 10-3/4" high Stephen Addiss Buddha Hanging scroll; ink on paper 74" x 17-5/8", mounted 49-1/2" x 13"

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