Abel Contemporary Gallery exhibits reception

media release: June 6 – July 20, 2025

We present Chris Alveshere, Jeff Campana, and Matt Repsher: New Work in Clay, Painting Invitational: Group Show, and in no.5: Fly by Trim by Emily Hoyt - Weber

Shows Open Online Saturday June 7 at 10 am CST.

In Person Events:

Opening Reception: Friday, June 6, 5 - 8pm

Artist Talk with Emily Hoyt-Weber: Sunday, June 22, 11am

Chris Alveshere, Jeff Campana, and Matt Repsher: New Work in Clay

Alveshere, Campana, and Repsher are nationally recognized for their work in ceramics.

Each of these artists approach the material in innovative ways creating functional and semi- functional work. What these artists have in common are masterfully crafted works  with sophisticated use of color and compelling surface treatments.

Alveshere’ s pots are an investigation of items he finds curious, feels sentimental towards, or objects he find humor in. His work is made in long, continuous runs of production, altering commonalities of the forms, while adapting parts, proportions, and attachments. Forms, parts, and clay and glaze colors are curated to be strong and inventive. He prefers to work through repetition, replication, and multiples.  

Campana first become known for wheel-thrown pottery that was dissected and reassembled, yielding decorative lines with structural and psychological implications. After a decade working along a fixed process and concept, he needed a new experience in the studio which resulted in a new way of making molds, which are systemic in their design and fully modular in use.

Repsher’s process begins with constructing wheel-thrown vessels then dismantling them through carving a facade of structure that often pierces the wall of the pots. The pot form appears built by layers of arches, posts, lintels, and discs, all of which are references to architectural elements that influence him. The architecture of the pots is reinforced by the surface painted on the form.

Group Show : Painting Invitational

Jordan Acker Anderson, Paul Burmeister, Holly Cohn, Candace Compton Pappas, Rachel Gregor, Kelli Hoppmann, Adam Stoner, and Jonathan Wilde

This exhibit includes the work of esteemed and established artists alongside impressive emerging talent, each with a distinctive point of view. Regardless of the painting media or subject matter chosen by these eight artists, the work is masterfully crafted, thoughtful, and compelling.

In no. 5: Fly by Trim by Emily Hoyt - Weber

Emily Hoyt-Weber is a Madison, Wisconsin based artist who works with landscape and 3d forms to create perceptual experiences. Raised in the Central Valley in California, she received her BA in Art and Literature from Humboldt State University and her MFA from Mills College in 2011. She has taught at Mills College, The Contemporary Art School in Austin, TX, and Coastal Bend College in South Texas. Her work is in collections in Austin, Dallas, and San Francisco. She was awarded a community initiative grant from the city of Austin, and a Herringer Foundation award in Oakland, CA.

Through a visual language of fragile linear drawings in space, Hoyt-Weber looks for ways to create physical impressions. The solidity of each installation, drawing and sculpture that she makes is called into question as it is examined by moving participants. The delicate materials chosen in the form of color, light and line speak to the artists’ desire to frame what already exists and allow for a multitude of

sense perceptions. Hoyt-Weber asks the question: How can I make something analog with very few materials that can alter our understanding of how we experience our surroundings? How can the art reinform our experience with three dimensionalities, with a location and with the people we interact with?