Council Tour & Reception: Recasting Colonialism

Join artist Michelle Erickson and Brittany Luberda, Anne Stone Associate Curator of Decorative Arts, for an evening exploring Recasting Colonialism: Michelle Erickson Ceramics.

Guests will enjoy small group tours of the exhibition and an opportunity to mingle with fellow BMA Council Members at a cocktail reception in Antioch Court.

Contemporary ceramicist Michelle Erickson draws from historic ceramic techniques to create works that expose the persistence of racism and exploitation in post-colonial countries. Erickson is a second-generation American and grew up near Colonial Williamsburg, where she studied the clay bodies and glaze formulas of ceramics imported to the American colonies. In her ceramics, the artist recreates historic forms and palettes but alters the shape and decoration to present her viewpoints in ways that are both witty and jarring. Subjects addressed include the importation of Chinese goods, child soldiers, former U.S. President Donald Trump, police brutality, and the Second Amendment. Her works on loan are paired with 17th- through 19th-century Asian and European ceramics from the BMA’s collection that invite viewers to consider the continuation of colonialism in the present.

This event is open to BMA Council Members. Invitations have been mailed.