Past Exhibitions

Currents is a gallery space dedicated to recognizing the work of emerging and evolving California artists. Featuring a different artist every two months, Currents presents a range of media, styles, and genres. 

Artist Statement

Water: A Story to be told.

Clay is the foundation of my practice, a living material shaped by the presence or absence of water. My work aims to offer pieces that are both thought-provoking and humorous, drawing inspiration from the Pop, Funk, and Abstract movements of the 1950s and 60s. Whether starting on the potter's wheel or workbench, I craft forms that undergo transformation, conveying a narrative or an idea. I make no effort to hide the strokes, impressions, or traces left by my hands.

Stories, characters, and narratives drive my practice. In this exhibition, I have chosen a group of three fictional collaborators from The Reductionist collective – Trudy Zimmerman, J.J. Jenks, and Danny Miyamoto – to allow me to explore ideas surrounding water. Zimmerman carefully explores ideas of fragility and vulnerability juxtaposed against safety and strength in her ceramic still life compositions. Jenks draws from decades spent as a street-sweeper operator, observing water as it collects, moves, shapes, and flows into the San Francisco Bay. Miyamoto's art is informed by his work as an agricultural pilot, examining the intersection of water and California agriculture.

Through these fictional collaborators and the works on display, I encourage viewers to contemplate their own relationship with water—how we value it, rely on it, and strive to conserve it.

- Mark Tanous & The Reductionists

About the Artist

Mark Tanous was introduced to clay at a very young age in the famed TB-9 ceramics studio at UC Davis, home of Robert Arneson, David Gilhooly, and other important Funk artists. While enjoying a career in television and film production in Los Angeles, Tanous remained committed to his ceramic practice, infusing his work with rich narratives influenced by a BFA in Theater Arts and his MFA in Fine Art and Design from Lesley University. Since 2007, he has shared his expertise as a wheel throwing instructor at Monterey Peninsula College, also teaching glazing and Art Survey. Recently, Tanous established Clay & Kiln at Hacienda in Carmel Valley, a vibrant community ceramic studio.

Image: Mark Tanous (b. 1955), Trouble in the Bay, 2022, high fire stoneware and iron, 24 x 12 x 4 in. Courtesy of the artist. © Mark Tanous