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Sandra Luehrsen: ceramic art
Through February 3, 2008
On December 14 West Valley Art Museum will open an exhibition of ceramics in two of its "Mini-galleries". The artist is Sandra Luehrsen who currently teaches design at Mesa Community College in Mesa. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Fine Arts from ASU. In 1999 she left a position as assistant dean of the Graduate College at ASU to work full time as a professional artist in her home studio.
She was born in Chicago, Illinois and developed an absorbing interest in her family history. She utilizes her experiences and memories in creating works that are a reflection of the research she has done. With a strong feeling of gratitude for the sacrifices her ancestors made to make life better for succeeding generations, Luehrsen creates works that are at once an homage to her forbears and witty valentines to the departed that sum up their character and express her admiration for them. A recent exhibition at Chandler Center for the Arts was titled “Gifts of Generations” and dedicated to her late parents, Kenneth and Joyce Luehrsen and her brother, Kenneth. “Kin Spirits” carries that tribute on for the benefit of Museum visitors.
Luehrsen enjoys using floral forms, engaging bright colored glazes that are a departure from the often seen brown, gray and white works of many of her contemporaries. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally for 30 years and appears in several prominent ceramic books, including The Ceramic Design Book, The Best of Pottery 2 and Smashing Glazes. Her work is included in the collections of the Cities of Tempe and Phoenix, Auckland Institute and Museum in New Zealand, Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center and many private collections.
Her exhibition coincides with the annual Arizona Clay exhibition, this year entitled "You’re Fired!" which starts in November and runs through December. Luehrsen’s show will run through February 3.