Piero Fenci Named 2012 Texas Master at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is pleased to name ceramic artist Piero Fenci the 2012 Texas Master. He is the fourth artist to receive this honor, awarded to established career artists working in Texas who have made a significant impact in the craft field. Following in the footsteps of former Texas Masters, Harlan Butt, Cindy Hickok and Rachelle Thiewes, Fenci was chosen for his outstanding involvement in the Texas craft community, his dedication and excellence in teaching, the innovative qualities of his work, and his exceptional craftsmanship. As the next Texas Master, Fenci will receive a solo show in the summer of 2012, a printed color catalog of the show, and will serve as a juror of the CraftTexas 2014 exhibition.
For more than 35 years, Piero Fenci has distinguished himself as both an artist and an educator. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, he holds an MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, and a BA in Latin American Studies from Yale University. Since 1975, Fenci has been a teacher and the head of the ceramics department at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. He has also spent time as a visiting professor at both the Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts in Nantucket, MA, and the Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Mexico, where he founded the first university ceramic art program in the state’s history.
Fenci’s work has roots in the underlying craft tradition of functionality, while exploring the sculptural and conceptual realm of contemporary ceramics. The artist states, “Intimate scale, the history of use, the tactile qualities of touching and lifting, and, above all, the interaction of surface and form are central concerns in my work.”
Fenci draws inspiration and ideas from his ardent interest in far-reaching cultural histories and the functional objects that arose from rich traditions. Some of his favorites include Etruscan pottery, pre-Columbian architecture, Japanese armor of the Muromachi period, Shaker hatboxes and tinware, and traditional origami. “I take these archetypes, filter them through my psyche, and intuitively connect them. My work, therefore, constitutes loosely rendered re-inventions of the past; they are my attempt to build a family tree of spiritual ancestors, a heritage of my own passions.”
Fenci’s vessels have been featured in numerous magazines and books, such as Ceramics Monthly, American Ceramics, The Contemporary Potter, and Clay and Glazes for the Potter. His pieces have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions from coast to coast (including HCCC’s CraftTexas 2010) and are included in many private and museum collections, including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art in Alfred, NY.
IMAGES Above: Piero Fenci, Torso with Dots, 2005. Low-fire ceramics. Green and Black Origami, 2010. Low-fire ceramics. Photos courtesy the artist.
For more than 35 years, Piero Fenci has distinguished himself as both an artist and an educator. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, he holds an MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, and a BA in Latin American Studies from Yale University. Since 1975, Fenci has been a teacher and the head of the ceramics department at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. He has also spent time as a visiting professor at both the Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts in Nantucket, MA, and the Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Mexico, where he founded the first university ceramic art program in the state’s history.
Fenci’s work has roots in the underlying craft tradition of functionality, while exploring the sculptural and conceptual realm of contemporary ceramics. The artist states, “Intimate scale, the history of use, the tactile qualities of touching and lifting, and, above all, the interaction of surface and form are central concerns in my work.”
Fenci draws inspiration and ideas from his ardent interest in far-reaching cultural histories and the functional objects that arose from rich traditions. Some of his favorites include Etruscan pottery, pre-Columbian architecture, Japanese armor of the Muromachi period, Shaker hatboxes and tinware, and traditional origami. “I take these archetypes, filter them through my psyche, and intuitively connect them. My work, therefore, constitutes loosely rendered re-inventions of the past; they are my attempt to build a family tree of spiritual ancestors, a heritage of my own passions.”
Fenci’s vessels have been featured in numerous magazines and books, such as Ceramics Monthly, American Ceramics, The Contemporary Potter, and Clay and Glazes for the Potter. His pieces have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions from coast to coast (including HCCC’s CraftTexas 2010) and are included in many private and museum collections, including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art in Alfred, NY.
IMAGES Above: Piero Fenci, Torso with Dots, 2005. Low-fire ceramics. Green and Black Origami, 2010. Low-fire ceramics. Photos courtesy the artist.