Arts & Entertainment

Craft Alliance to Hold Teapot Exhibition

The 13th biennial teapot exhibit opens March 9.

The Craft Alliance (CA) in University City will host a new exhibit in March — HOT TEA: 13th Biennial Teapot Exhibition.

The opening reception is from 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 9 in in the Delmar Loop.

Throughout the world, the drinking of tea is an integral part of the social fabric, from the everyday sharing of tea amongst friends to the traditional tea ceremony in Japan. The common thread linking all of these tea-time traditions is the dynamic of sharing. For this exhibition, artists from all media (clay, fiber, glass, metal and wood) share their appreciation and interpretation of the teapot with CA. 

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The roster of participating artists is impressive; this year’s exhibit includes 50 artists, 20 of whom are local or regional. A few of this year's participants include:

  • Richard Notkin — His work is influenced by the tradition of Yixing pottery, and can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and the Mint Museum of Craft and Design, among others.
  • Kevin Snipes — A young African-American ceramic artist who uses skillfully designed vessels and quirky figures as vehicles for storytelling.
  • Other well-known clay artists, such as Joe Bova, Sam Chung, Eric Serritella and Blair Meerfield will add their unique perspectives to the show.

Craft Alliance also will present the glass and metal work of Robert Ebendorf, a leading figure in the studio jewelry movement. His found object jewelry has been shown in galleries around the world, leading to a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

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Internationally known fiber artist, Jo Stealey, will display her teapots created out of leaves and paper, while Ed Bing Lee showcases his intricately knotted pieces.

To complement CA’s increasing interest in wood, this year’s exhibition features more wooden teapots than in previous shows. Nationally acclaimed woodturners John Jordan and Dixie Biggs will both feature their work, as well as internationally known pioneer woodturner David Ellsworth.

HOT TEA, Craft Alliance’s 13th teapot exhibition, is partially underwritten by The Republic of Tea. Financial assistance for Craft Alliance’s exhibition series has been provided by the , the Arts & Education Council, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

From March 9 to April 1, a high school teapot exhibition will be featured concurrently in the David & Jacqueline Charak gallery.

The 14 participating schools include:

  • Crossroads College Preparatory School
  • Hazelwood Central High School
  • St. Louis University High School

In conjunction with HOT TEA, Craft Alliance will present Sky High Tea: A Teapot Exhibition at Lambert International Airport. Sky High Tea, Lambert International Airport’s first exhibition in their exciting new gallery space, focuses on twenty regional artists who are participating in this year’s HOT TEA biennial, showcasing teapots in glass, clay, metal, and fiber.

A few of the invited artists include well-known glass artist Susan Taylor Glasgow, ceramic artists Dan Barnett and Susan Bostwick, metal artist Michael Parrett, and fiber artists Ann Coddington Rast and Jo Stealey.


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