Ceramics Sculptor to Exhibit Vessels at Baylor's Martin Museum

Ceramics sculptor Yih-Wen Kuo will show his work through Saturday, Nov. 14, at Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University.

His work has developed out of the traditional concept of the vessel. He is not interested in making functional pots and tends to produce simple forms because they express multi-dimensional meaning according to his official Web site.

Although his pieces can be classified as sculptures, Kuo considers them vessels because they are not completely closed. He creates a hole in each piece which he refers to as a passage. He also writes inside of his clay slabs before finishing them.

"If you were to ever break one of these pieces open you would find his thoughts inside," said Karin Gilliam, director of Baylor University's Martin Museum of Art.

Kuo's technique is to apply different thicknesses of glaze, which melt in random patterns in the kiln.
He is an associate professor of art at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. He earned his bachelor's degree in industrial technology from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan and his master's of fine arts degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, Ill.
Kuo has participated in more than a dozen exhibits worldwide. He has public collections in Oklahoma, Lithuania, Taiwan and New York.
Also on exhibit will be the works of several Texas quilters. Their contemporary quilts will be shown in Gallery II.
Martin Museum of Art is in Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, 60 Baylor Ave. in Waco. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
Admission is free.
For more information, call (254) 710-1867 or visit www.baylor.edu/martinmuseum.

by Jessica Puente, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805