“Confrontational Clay: The Artist as Social Critic” featured 50 works by 25 artists, including some of the most illustrious names in ceramics. The concept grew from the research concepts while writing my dissertation, “Satire in Contemporary American Ceramics.” The artists featured in this groundbreaking exhibition demonstrated a wide range of important contemporary issues like war, politics, gender issues, popular culture, consumerism, and the environment.

The artists whose work appeared in this provocative and highly engaging exhibition were Patti Warashina, Wesely Anderegg, Richard Notkin, Les Lawrence, Ann Agee, Robert Arneson, Peter Gourfain, Arthur Gonzales, Howard Kottler, Matt Nolen, Nancy Fried, Karen Breschi, Toby Buonagurio, Clayton Bailey, Cynthia Consentino, Justin Novak, Johan Creten, John de Fazio, life in general, Sergei Isupov, Joseph Seigenthaler, Lee Stoliar, Kukuli Velarde, Raymon Elozua and Micheline Gingras, Mark Burns, Kim Dickey, Marek Cecula and Janis Mars Wunderlich.

For viewers who thought of clay only as a medium for pots, vases, and bowls, Confrontational Clay was considered a revelation! The show was toured by Exhibits USA for two years with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Confrontational Clay opened in January 2000 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando where it was a great success. Other stops on the tour included Little Rock, Arkansas, Middlebury, Vermont and Springfield, Ohio. The exhibition traveled to a total of 10 venues (see total list of institutions below).

The 40-page color catalog written by Dr. Schwartz accompanied the exhibition and is available on Amazon.

Confrontational Clay toured the following museums and art centers from January 2000 until September 2002:

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, FL

The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK

Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, Camden, NJ

Flint Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI

The Middlebury College Museum, Middlebury, CT

Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH

Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

Belger Art Center, Kansas City, MO

Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY