Curator’s Introduction | Craig Rhodes Exhibition
It is a rare privilege to work with Craig Rhodes, a master ceramicist whose artistic career spans more than five decades and whose influence radiates across Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. Working from his studio nestled along the edge of the Shawnee National Forest, Rhodes has long pursued an intimate dialogue with clay—one shaped by the landscape, tradition, and his relentless spirit of experimentation.
Rhodes' practice is grounded in both discipline and curiosity. A resident of Brookport, Illinois, he has become widely recognized for his unorthodox methods: slip‑patterned surfaces, reduction‑fired glazes, and forms that stretch, balloon, and defy expectation. His feature on WSIU's Expressions highlighted not only his more than 45 years of experience, but also the depth of commitment he brings to every stage of making—from wheel‑throwing to glazing, from improvisational mark‑making to the unpredictable alchemy of the kiln.
Nature is one of Rhodes' most enduring collaborators. The gestural surfaces seen throughout this exhibition draw inspiration from the organic irregularities he studies closely—patterns reminiscent of shifting dunes, rhythmic movement, and the textured imperfections of the natural world. His improvisational surfaces, often carved, stretched, or layered, reveal a process that is at once deeply physical and richly meditative.
Throughout his career, Rhodes has absorbed and extended the teachings of influential regional ceramic educators, including Fred Shepard, Wayne Bates, Harris Deller, and John Hasegawa, forging a lineage that honors the strong ceramic traditions of Southern Illinois. Yet what emerges in his work is unmistakably his own: an expressive, tactile language built through decades of exploration, risk‑taking, and refinement.
This exhibition brings together a body of work that reflects the full arc of Rhodes' evolution. His recent presentations, including a significant exhibition at the Ruth Baggett Gallery in Paducah, reveal an artist working at the height of his powers—drawn to the challenges of form and surface, and committed to pushing the potential of clay into new terrain.
As curator, I invite you to slow down within this space, to follow the lines and textures of each form, and to experience the harmony Rhodes has cultivated between material, landscape, and imagination. These works are the result of a lifetime of learning, teaching, experimenting, and—above all—listening to what clay can become.
Chuck Benya, EdD
Artspace Southern Illinois, CEO and Curator