RAVENSWOOD — The cooking of food has been elevated to an art form, so why not the serving of food, too?
Lillstreet Art Center frees the table setting from its lowly bridal registry status and places it in the spotlight as the centerpiece of the juried exhibition, "Ready, Set: Contemporary Tableware."
The work of 19 ceramic artists is featured in the show, which runs through Oct. 5.
Patty Wetli says that the exhibition hopes to show that what you serve food on is maybe as important as the food itself:
All were required to produce a dinner and salad plate, bowl and cup and then could elaborate as they saw fit, according to Pilsen resident Natalie Steinmetz, the lone Chicagoan selected to participate in the exhibition.
Steinmetz, who heads up the ceramics department at The Art Center in Highland Park, spent two months creating her pieces for the show, which employ a Moroccan pattern that she frequently repeats in her work.
"For this one place setting, I made two complete sets," testing different materials and glazes, she said. "I was able to choose the best pieces."
The Best in Show award went to Albion Stafford, an assistant professor of fine arts at Illinois State University, whose work was dotted with confetti-like pinpricks of color.
Ukrainian artist Maria Volokhova submitted work from her "Sheep Chase" series, in which a porcelain sheep's head can be taken apart and its various components used as serving pieces.
Other table settings ranged from stark to whimsical, contemporary to rustic. Much of the pottery was distinguished by the irregular shaping and glazing that are hallmarks of handmade ceramics.
"To set a table with any of these things, it makes the table a piece of art," said Nancy Meyer, a student of Steinmetz's who attended the exhibit's opening reception.
Part of the exhibition's purpose, though, is to demonstrate the utility of handmade ceramics.
Before the emergence of mass production, "all art was functional," said Bruce Robbins, Lillstreet's founder and chief executive officer. "People made things to use them."
No less an authority than Martha Stewart has promoted the daily use of ceramics, devoting eight pages of June's Martha Stewart Living magazine to the subject.
Among the advice given to consumers: Combine works from different potters on the same table by sticking to a simple color scheme.
Take it from the artists, there's also no shame in mixing artisanal work with tableware bought from a department store, particularly given the expense of handmade ceramics — $50 soup bowls are on the more affordable end.
Though Steinmetz said she typically drinks from mugs and cups of her own creation, her dishes are another story.
She confessed to using a hand-me-down set she inherited from her sister.
"I think it came from Jewel," she said.
The "Ready, Set" exhibit can be found on the first floor of Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.; there is no admission charge.
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