Tetkowski '77 (BFA) Exhibition at the Everson

To celebrate the new millennium, in the year 2000 artist Neil Tetkowski undertook a Herculean project: gathering clay from all 188 member countries of the United Nations. With these clay samples, Tetkowski created a suitably monumental work that debuted at United Nations headquarters in New York City—the Common Ground World Mandala. Measuring seven feet in diameter and more than nine feet high, Tetkowski’s sculpture is a testament to the artist’s ability to think beyond boundaries—of scale, of geography, and of politics.

Common Ground uses Tetkowski’s World Mandala as the centerpiece of an exhibition that showcases the Everson’s vast collection of world ceramics. From ancient Mesopotamian and Greek pottery to contemporary Zulu beer brewing vessels and a life-size terra-cotta horse built by Indian priests, the Everson’s collection traces the evolution of ceramics across cultures over thousands of years. Common Ground uses ceramics, one of humankind’s oldest art forms to remind us of our shared bonds with the earth. The exhibition will be on view through April 9, 2023

Everson.org

Neil Tetkowski’s passion for art began at a young age. His parents, both of whom were educators and associated with the arts, fostered his creativity. By his tenth birthday, Neil had visited museums and cultural landmarks in more than twenty countries, and additional travel in the U.S. and Mexico expanded his ambitions.

After receiving his BFA from Alfred University in 1977, he studied at Illinois State University. He mostly works with clay, creating three and four-foot disks that challenge viewers with their scale and aesthetics. He has been a professor at Denison University in Ohio, the State University College at Buffalo, and at Parsons School of Design in New York City.