Chesterton Art Center is pleased to announce a new exhibition coming to its galleries from July 5-September 1, 2024 titled Beneath the Surface by artists Jon Hook and Andrea Peterson. An Artists’ Reception with both Jon Hook and Andrea Peterson will be held Friday, July 19 from 4-7 PM, with an artist talk at 5:30 PM. Artist demonstrations in ceramics and paper making will take place Friday, August 16, 4-7 PM as part of Chesterton Third Friday series. These events are free to the public and all are welcome.
Beneath the Surface explores our human relationship to the environment as a quest for process and transformation that is grounded both physically and in the abstract. Our connection with the natural relies on notions that are unseen, that require trust and the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. With this body of work in ceramics, paper arts, prints, and artist books, Jon Hook and Andrea Peterson offer us origin myths, life cycle stories, sustainable lessons, and deep wonders.
Jon Hook and Andrea Peterson are Hook, Pottery, Paper located in LaPorte, Indiana. Their homestead studios were founded with the intention to create works of art and research in an environmentally sustainable manner. While they are deeply rooted in traditional artmaking methods, they add contemporary practices to reflect our contemporary world.
Andrea Peterson is an internationally exhibiting artist and educator. Her work explores paper fibers and processes and includes paper works, prints, artist books, and environmental installation pieces. She currently teaches in the Fiber and Material Studies Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Jon Hook is a studio artist creating ceramic sculptural works and functional pottery pieces using stoneware clays and glazes made directly from the clay on their property. He wood fires his pieces using local plants and materials including hay, thistle, and cattails.
“Jon and Andrea’s exhibition raises important questions regarding our perceptions of and relationships with the natural world around us. The way they both embody their practices in how they live and create is deeply inspirational and offers gentle lessons in sustainability and working within the cycles of nature. There is lots to learn and take away from the stories they are telling with these works, “says Hannah Hammond-Hagman, CAC Executive Director.
Chesterton Art Center will also be hosting a Family Art Day on Saturday, August 24 from 10AM-2PM. Family Art Day visitors will explore Hook and Peterson’s Beneath the Surface exhibition and create a series of projects inspired by Hook and Peterson’s work. This is a free event and all ages are welcome, registration information can be found at chestertonart.org. To learn more about Chesterton Art Center, visit www.chestertonart.org, or call (219) 926-4711.
Andrea Peterson, Within, cast cotton rag pulp, ink, red pigment
Jon Hook, Trees Crawl Back Into the Earth, oribe glaze and natural ash deposit on woodfired stoneware
Andrea Peterson, Below the Surface, Pigmented cotton rag and woodcut print, 2'x8'