ALICE FEDERICO
George Billis Gallery

False distinctions between art and craft began eroding in the early 20th century. Interaction between modernism and the crafts was intense in the prelude to World War II. Although the relationship began as a romance with the capacities of machine production, renewed respect for handwork exploded in the 1960s and continues.

Nowhere is that regard more prevalent than in ceramics. The work of such masters as Michael Leach — godfather of modern studio ceramics — Shoji Hamada, Michael Cardew, and Dame Lucie Rie affirmed the unity of art and craft. Ceramist Alice Federico creates in the tradition of these earlier artists who understood that seriousness of purpose transcends the boundaries of what George Bernard Shaw called “easel-picture despotism.”

Although she draws from a variety of sources, Ms. Federico’s deepest attachment is to the fluid, sensual forms created by the Vienese-born Lucie Rie (1902–90). Here are tall necks with flaming lips and rising pots that belly out above small feet. Classically simple shapes with delicately modulated monochrome glazes, the collection is intended — as was Rie’s work — to harmonize in a domestic setting. Form and surface are inseparable here. Subtle texturing blends with the shape to heighten, not decorate, the character of the vessel. Simple lines of graffito accentuate structure. Ms. Federico’s design decisions keep faith with Bauhaus emphasis on form and avoidance of surface ornament. Modern as these pieces are, they speak powerfully of the past. One vase rises like a Ionic column, its swelling almost imperceptible. Another billows at the base in the manner of a Grand Feu design. In each object, structure is key. This is a spare, elegant collection that insists on clarity of form. Its architectonic austerity makes the old formal vocabulary (e.g. pots, potter) seem inadequate or inappropriate. Because of the myriad ways of treating it, clay is a great imitator of surfaces. It can take on the tactile dimension and character of other materials with great conviction. Ms. Federico’s lightly pitted surfaces (created by firing techniques acting on the chemistry of glazes) are particularly evocative of weathered walls and artifacts. Several are fired with dark, metallic glazes that approach the iridescence of lusterware, an effect heightened by surface irregularities. It is often said that good sculpture makes you want to run your hands over it. By that gauge, Ms. Federico is a highly refined contemporary sculptor. Her contours are seductive and invite caress.

-Maureen Mullarkey

Until December 23 (511 W. 25th St. at 10th Avenue, 212-645-2621).

WILLARD BOEPPLE: RESIN, PAPER AND WOOD
Lori Bookstein Fine Art

Unless you have perfect visual recall, viewing the 10 sculptured pieces in this exhibit from multiple angles will not lead to a quick comprehension of the whole. Each time you reposition yourself around the sides, some new detail or relationship materializes. The pieces each have contrasting formal qualities; simple exteriors, which are cylindrical, rectilinear, or boxlike; and variegated interiors with shifting planes and interstices.

Initially, Willard Boepple’s sculptures look like four-legged tables, speaker cabinets, or end tables, but their utilitarian qualities disappear on closer inspection. Mr. Boepple generates confusion by luring the viewer’s gaze into the compact and elusive spaces in the center of his sculptures and eliminating all obvious entry points for the viewer’s gaze. We are forced into a phenomenological event, where comprehension of the whole has to be pieced together. It takes time to figure out how all the elements are integrated.

The five resin sculptures on view take the tension generated by the poplar sculptures to a new level. Like the wood sculptures, we are meant to look into them. The indentations in such cylindrical sculptures as “Ways and Means” (2002) and “Gearless” (2002) become embedded dark lines when we look at the sculptures from the sides. The relationship between these embedded lines and the protuberances and recessions visible on the exteriors becomes unclear. The level of opacity and translucency of the resin means that the lines we see within the material are distorted like objects seen beneath water.

-Eric Gelber

Until December 9 (37 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, third floor, 212-750-0949).