ARTIST BIO
Growing up in the coastal town of Newport, Oregon, Melanie Ferguson's interest in art was richly influenced by her ocean surroundings and nourished by assisting, studying, and working with local artists and native elders. She experimented with many artistic forms of expression involving pen and ink illustration, calligraphy, furniture design using local driftwood, and a subsequent focus on the properties of hand blown sheet glass, evolving a narrative style applied to architectural and commercial glass commissions. This venture in glass prompted a move to Washington State's Puget Sound where she studied Visual Communication at Northwest College of Art.
Following a three-year placement as designer and account manager for a leading Puget Sound advertising agency, Melanie established herself as a freelance agent specializing in branding identity and product design, serving corporate, municipal, and non-profit clients from 1990 - 2005. A longtime desire to live in the Southern United States initiated a move to the state of Georgia where she began full-time study of Contemporary Ceramics at Roswell Art Center West in 2007, exploring the sculptural quality of the hand-built form and the narrative grace of surface with a special focus on wood, soda, and atmospheric firing. Today, her works are exhibited nationally and internationally as she continues her artistic exploration of sculptural form and surface from her Loch Highland studio near Roswell, Georgia.
CV: Melanie Ferguson
EDUCATION
2008-2013 Art Center West, Roswell, GA - Atmospheric Firing
2007-2011 Art Center West, Roswell, GA - Hand-building: Contemporary Ceramics
1984-1987 Northwest College of Art, Poulsbo, WA - Visual Communication
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
STORYTELLERS: Path to the Known; Solo Exhibition
March 22 - June 3, 2017; Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
SURFING THE LOTUS THREADS: Solo Exhibition
October 12 - November 9, 2017; Tansey Contemporary, Denver, CO
INSIDE CHANDLER'S COVE, Solo Exhibition
April 10 - June 26, 2014; Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL
JURIED | INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS (Select)
GROUP EXHIBITION
January 25 - March 16, 2024; Cavin-Morris Clay at Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
INTERSECT CHICAGO: The Future of SOFA
A virtual exhibition: Glass, Ceramic, Fiber Art, Contemporary Art, Outsider Art, Public Art/Sculpture
November 5-12, 2020; Represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
SACRAL LANDSCAPES: An Group Exhibition
July 2020; Curated by Randall Morris, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
METRO MONTAGE XX
July 11 - September 6, 2020; Juried Exhibition, Curated by Madeline Beck, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA
ROUGH STUFF: A Celebration of Wild Surface
April 25 - May 25, 2019; Group Exhibition, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
MAVERICKS II - Cavin-Morris Gallery
January 10 - February 9, 2019. Group Exhibition, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
CONTEMPORARY SHOWCASE: Howard/Mandville Gallery
February 3 - 28, 2018; Group Exhibition, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
THIS IS WHAT CLAY CAN DO: A Meditation
June 13 - July 29, 2017; Group Exhibition, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
MAKING IT IN CRAFTS III: National Invitational Exhibition
May 12 - August 27, 2017. Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Lafayette, IN
CONTEMPORARY SHOWCASE: Howard/Mandville Gallery
March 11 - April 2, 2017; Group Exhibition, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
FICTITIOUS FIBER - Group Invitational Exhibition
October 7 - November 11, 2016. Curated by Jane Sauer, Tansey Contemporary Santa Fe, NM
SUMMER SPOTLIGHT - Cavin-Morris Gallery
September 8 - October 8, 2016. Featured Artist, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
12th ANNUAL WARSAW CERAMICS FAIR, Ceramics On The Web Invitational
June 11, 2016. Polish Ceramic Association, Warsaw, Poland
MAVERICK: The NEW at Cavin-Morris Gallery
February 18 - March 26, 2016. Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
WINTER SHOWCASE: New Works by Gallery Artists, Haward/Mandville Gallery
February 18 - March 26, 2016. Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
DE LA NATURALEZA, Juried Exhibition
January 9 - March 6, 2016. Juror: Sherrie Hawk, Curator: Eric Rausch
Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens with Central Ohio Clay Arts (COCA), Columbus, OH
POTTERY NORTHWEST UN-WEDGED 2015, Juried Exhibition
November 7 - 28, 2015. Juror: Richard Notkin, Pottery Northwest, Seattle, WA
WORKING WOMEN: 36 Contemporary Women Artists, Invitational Exhibition
September 17 - November 3, 2015; Marian Graves Mugar Gallery at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH
RHIZOME! New Growth at Cavin-Morris Gallery
September 10 - October 10, 2015; Represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
ENFLAMED! New Ceramics at Cavin-Morris Gallery
June 15 - August 14, 2015; Represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
Pop Up Exhibition: Villa Stadtpark, Bochum Germany
May 17, 2015; Represented by Kunat Fine Arts Gallery, Kierspe Germany
IN DREAMS BEGIN RESPONSIBILITIES: 30 Years at Cavin-Morris Gallery
February 19 - March 14, 2015; Represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery, Chelsea District, NYC
METRO CURATES New York City
January 22 - 25, 2015; Represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
ELEMENTALS: Women Sculpting Animism" Group Exhibition
November 1 - December 13, 2014; Cavin-Morris Gallery, Chelsea District, NYC
MAKING IT IN CRAFTS II, National Invitational Exhibition
September 26 - December 28, 2014; Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Lafayette, IN
DIRECTOR'S CHOICE: Clay, Not The Usual Suspects, Invitational Exhibition
September 25 - November 7, 2014; The Gallery at Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, OH
METRO MONTAGE XIV, Juried Invitational Exhibition
July 19 - September 14, 2014; Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA
PRAISESONG FOR THE NUMINOUS, Group Exhibition
March 27 - April 26, 2014; Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
THE METRO SHOW: New York City
January 23 - 26, 2014; Represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
RESTLESS II - A MIX, Group Invitational Exhibition
May 16 - August 16, 2013; Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
AMBASSADOR J. CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Artists for Peace and Common
Understanding
between the Peoples of the Middle East and the United States, Juried Exhibition
April 4th – April 20th, 2013; John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
THE ART OF HEALING: A Visual Arts Benefit, Juried Invitation Exhibition
October 2012; Southeast Alabama Medical Center Foundation / Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL
B12 BIENNIAL EXHIBITION, Juried Invitational Exhibition
September 2012; Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, AL
INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONAL GROUP EXHIBITION: Painting-Sculpture-Ceramic
March 2013; Sponsored by Usak Governorship, Usak Municipality, and Usak University, Usak Turkey
PRESS | REVIEWS | PUBLICATIONS
NEW CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS MAGAZINE
November 2022 / #6 print issue, "In Studio with Melanie Ferguson", Interviewed by Evelynne Shoenmann
ROUGH STUFF: A Celebration of Wild Surface
Spring 2019; Exhibition Catalog; Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
DICK BLICK ART MATERIALS
2018 / 2019 Cover Art; Art Supplies Sales Catalog
MELANIE FERGUSON - STORYTELLERS: Path to the Known
2018 Solo Exhibition Catalog; Issuu Online - Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, NY
b2ZONE MAGAZINE
Summer 2018 Feature Artist; www.magazine.b2zone.com
MAKING IT IN CRAFTS III: Art Museum of Greater Lafayette
2017; Print Exhibition Catalog; Art Museum of Greater Lafayette Indiana
EARTH SKIN: New Ceramics at Cavin-Morris Gallery
2016; Issuu Online Exhibition Catalog
FICTITIOUS FIBER
2016; Print Exhibition Catalog; Tansey Contemporary Santa Fe, NM
MAVERICK: The New at Cavin-Morris Gallery
2016; Issuu Online Exhibition Catalog; Cavin-Morris Gallery, NY
UNWEDGED No. 5
2015; Exhibition Catalog; Pottery Northwest
WORKING WOMEN: 36 Contemporary Women Artists
2015; Exhibition Catalog; Marion Graves Mugar Art Gallery, Colby-Sawyer College
ENFLAMED: New Ceramics at Cavin-Morris Gallery
August 2015; Issuu Online Exhibition Catalog
THE ARTIST OMNIVORE, Polymer Arts Magazine
Summer 2015 Edition; Featured Artist Interview, Author: Donna Greenberg
INSPIRATIONAL Magazine
Feature Artist, Premier Issue: Autumn/Fall 2014. Editor/Author: John Hopper
AMBASSADOR J. CHRISTOPHER STEVENS Memorial Exhibition Catalog
Publication date: 2015. John Natsoulas Gallery
2014 POTTERS COUNCIL CALENDAR
Cover Artist. October 2014 Featured Artist; Potters Council
2014 POTTERS COUNCIL CALENDAR – A Sculpture Collection
June 2014 Featured Artist; Potters Council
2013 RESTLESS II! - A MIX
2013; Issue Online Exhibition Catalog, Cavin-Morris Gallery
2013 POTTERS COUNCIL CALENDAR – A Sculpture Collection
November 2013 Featured Artist; Potters Council
INTERNATIONAL GROUP SHOW: International Mixed Exhibition: Painting-Sculpture-Ceramic
2013; Published by Usak University Press (Paperback)
Kentle Bulusma-III Uluslararasi Karma Sergi Resim-Heykel-Sermik
