Coastal Carolina University’s Rebecca Randall Bryan Gallery presents an exhibit by guest artist Colleen Toledano, titled “When the Obscure is Clear,” Monday, March 4, through Friday, April 5, 2024. Toledano will give a lecture at an artist reception on Thursday, March 14, at 4:30 p.m. in the Bryan Gallery. The event and the exhibit are free and open to the public.

Toledano’s “When the Obscure is Clear” is a collection of autobiographical ceramic works that explore notions of family, motherhood, and domestic relations. The pieces, and the collection as a whole, express the endless evolution in Toledano’s roles as mother and wife in relation to the changing dynamics within her family. A studio artist from Buffalo, N.Y., Toledano holds an M.F.A. in ceramics from Ohio University. She is an assistant professor of ceramics at Buffalo State College.

Jim Arendt, gallery director and professor in CCU’s Department of Visual Arts, said Toledano’s work represents a remixing and recontextualization of traditional elements.

“[Toledano’s] work is a beautiful example of contemporary ceramics based in historic vessels,” said Arendt. “You can see how she’s deconstructing historic forms and bringing this masterful articulation of material to the work.”

The specific material Toledano uses also reinforces the themes in her work.

“Porcelain has a particular connotation, and I think that’s part of the artist’s intent,” said Arendt. “Porcelain is a more fluid, high end, delicate type of ceramic work, and it lends itself to explorations of forms that are extremely thin and can, in fact, be translucent. I’m really excited to share the work because I think it’s masterfully done.”

The Rebecca Randall Bryan Gallery, located in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Building, room 129, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Written by Sara Sobota, Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts