Hon Invited to exhibit at 2014 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale; work included in the winning proposal of Wendy Gers (a fellow South African) - adjudicated the official curator of the 2014 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale.

Wendy Gers, a research associate at VIAD* (FADA’s Research Centre, University of Johannesburg South Africa) has won the prominent international competition to be the official curator of the 2014 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale. Seven international jurors selected Gers based on her research experience and cutting edge project proposal entitled, "Ceramics Now: Art, Design & Digital Materiality." She was adjudicated the winner after being shortlisted with eight other prominent curatorial candidates from across the globe. In the preliminary selection, potential curators were chosen based on their experience (CV), past curatorial projects, and their contemporary project proposal for the 2014 International Ceramics Biennale.

The highly esteemed curatorial role forms part of the 2014 International Ceramics Biennale (Competition) to be held at the very impressive Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan from May 9 to October 12, 2014. Since 2012, the museum has been alternating between a work contest and a curatorial exposition every two years to expand and promote the cultural contribution of the international ceramics community.

and the ship sails on, Photograph (detail) of ceramic installation
with projected animation (artist's ballpoint pen drawings).

Two renowned South African Ceramists, whose cutting edge works were included in her curatorial proposal, were invited to exhibit their work at the prestigious international ceramics event next year. Eugene Hon a senior lecturer at FADA (the blogger) will showcase his latest work, a ceramic installation with projected animation titled, and the ship sails on (image above).

Masquerade, Press moulded mask
by Clementina van der Walt.

Clementina van der Walt, a lecturer at the Ceramics Department in the eighties, now based in Cape Town, will exhibit one of her renowned wall panels of press moulded masks titled, Masquerade, that alludes to the ongoing tensions associated with forging a new national identity for the so called 'Rainbow Nation' in post-Apartheid times. See image above- follow the link provided for a review by Wilma Cruise of the exhibition titled, Masquerade, held at the Irma Stern Museum  December 2004-5. 

and the ship sails on, photograph (detail), ceramic installation
 with projected animation (artists ballpoint drawings).

In her winning proposal of her choice of ceramists, she states, ‘I endeavored to include a significant proportion of artists and designers attached to universities, academic research laboratories and reputed international organizations such as the International Academy of Ceramics (lAC). This ensures that most of the ceramists are leaders and pioneers in their respective fields. For me, this is essential in order to ensure that Ceramics NOW: art, design & digital materialities sets a benchmark. The artists included are all engaged in an elevated level of critical discourse and designers at the a-front of the digital revolution.’

Wendy Gers the Franco-South African Art Historian and Curator currently lectures at l’Ecole Supérieure d’Art et de Design du Valenciennes, France. She formerly worked as Curator at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth. Research interests include twentieth century Southern African performing arts (especially dance and performance); craft and design (ceramics is her primary area of expertise) as well as museology and curatorial practices. She is also a researcher, arts writer and curator linked to VIAD.

*VIAD – The Research Centre (RC), Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD) is an integral part of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) South Africa, spanning across all of its eight departments. The RC’s conceptual underpinnings are based upon the thematics of visually embodying identity in art and design practices.​​

• Competition announcement.
• Museum website.
• VIAD website.

CV; Wendy Gers (Executive summary)

BA Art History and Classical Civilisation, University of KwaZulu-Natal; AUDIS Advanced University Diploma in Information Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal; MA History of Art University of KwaZulu-Natal (cum laude); currently pursuing doctoral studies, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, University of the Arts, London

Gers has authored various museum catalogues, catalogue articles, and published in various journals including Art South Africa, Ceramic Review, and Image & Text. In 2011 and 2012 Gers published articles on Robyn Orlyn and Steven Cohen (Art South Africa 2012. 10(3):48-51); contemporary South African Ceramics (Art South Africa  2012. 10(4):54-59) and on Re-Presentations of Southern San Parietal Art on Drostdy Ware Pottery from the 1950s (Image & Text 2011. 18:).

Fluent in English, French and Spanish, Gers regularly participates in various academic conferences and forums in Europe and South Africa. In July 2012 she participated in the World Economic History Congress, University of Stellenbosch and the South African Visual Arts Historians National Conference at UNISA, Pretoria. She gives public lectures in South Africa and France. Gers is currently finalising a large monograph on Southern African Potteries: 1880-1980, and recently collaborated with Iziko SA Cultural History Museum on the exhibition Fired, which displays works from their ceramic collections, and will show for three years at the Cape Town Castle. Awards and Grants include a 2010 Research Grant Award from Central Saint Martin’s College, University of the Arts.