JAKE BOGGS: “GEMZ AVERY: AN ARGOSY”

Jake BoggsJake Boggs, Plows the Fields of Hyperbolan, 2020

exhibition icon  EXHIBITION

JAKE BOGGS: “GEMZ AVERY: AN ARGOSY”
August 17 – September 10, 2020
Commons Gallery, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

UHM MFA Alumni Jake Boggs’ “Gemz Avery: An Argosy” is a multi-series, autobiographical allegory focusing on the life of the fictional persona Gemz Avery. It follows the the peripatetic figure’s twelve pivotal feats of discovery and endurance. Like Heracles of ancient Greece, Avery’s existential marathons and interpersonal triumphs have been placed on the abstracted surface and rotund forms of amphora, volumetric ceramic vessels. Their surfaces draw from the combined Eastern and Western traditions of ceramic history.

According to Boggs, the creator of the Gemz Avery persona, the collection of vessels “requires the viewer to be in the here and now, to practice intense focus in order to relive the journey of the protagonist.” He writes: “Similar to ceramic artifacts from antiquity, deciphering the significance of these vessels requires careful examinations and smartphone detective work. Much of the semiotic code lies just below the surface while windows through space reveal traces of symbols and signs which allude to the narrative of each.” The collection of twelve vessels acts as a whole, telling an epic story.

This exhibition was organized by Professor Gaye Chan and originally scheduled to be on view in March, 2020 and was rescheduled due to COVID-19.

Artist Bio
Jake Boggs is the Ceramics Studio Coordinator at the Donkey Mill Art Center in Hōlualoa Hawai‘i. He holds a BFA from Eastern Kentucky University and an MFA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His interest in ceramics has taken him from his home culture in Appalachia where he sources traditional and contemporary forms as creative influence to the Ecuadorian Amazon, Jeju Island in South Korea, and Jingdezhen City, the birthplace of porcelain, in China. He keeps an active and evolving studio practice and exhibits his work widely across the United States. His interest in the ceramic arts as well as education propels him forward in shaping the local ceramics community.

Sponsors

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Department of Art + Art History and College of Arts + Humanities; Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i and by the National Endowment for the Arts; Halekulani Hotel – Hospitality Sponsor for the Arts at UH Mānoa; and anonymous donors.

Gallery hours + admission:
Please note: Due to continued vigilance against the spread of COVID-19, this exhibition will be on view through the windows of the gallery only. Free admission. Donations are appreciated.
Parking fees may apply during weekdays. Parking is free on Sundays
Directions

For more information please contact Sharon Tasaka at 808.956.8364 and gallery@hawaii.edu