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Ferrin Contemporary FERRIN CONTEMPORARY specializing in contemporary ceramic art 1950 – present.

Ferrin Contemporary is the preferred source for contemporary ceramic art circa 1950 – present with over 35 years of experience and expertise in private collections services and the presentation for sale of primary and secondary market works by leading international artists whose primary medium is clay. Based in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, Ferrin Contemporary maintains exhibition space at 1315 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA and a business office, library and art warehouse at Project Art, a live/work artist residency in a renovated, 18th-century mill building in Cummington, Mass.

ON VIEW | STEVEN YOUNG LEE: Saryeong: Four Sacred CreaturesLillstreet Art Center4401 N. Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, ILOn vi...
10/21/2026

ON VIEW | STEVEN YOUNG LEE: Saryeong: Four Sacred Creatures

Lillstreet Art Center
4401 N. Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL
On view October 5 – 29, 2026

In ancient Korean tradition, four mystical animals known as the Saryeong embody auspicious and divine forces that represent cosmic order, harmony, and virtue. The Yong (Dragon) symbolizes cosmic authority and sovereign power; the Bonghwang (Phoenix) represents wisdom, noble harmony, and peaceful rule; the Geobuk (Turtle) embodies longevity and divination; and the Girin (Qilin), often depicted with the torso of a deer, the hooves of a horse, and the tail of an ox, represents humane virtue and morality. Together, these sacred beings express an ideal balance between humanity, nature, and the cosmos.

This body of work depicts the Saryeong on four vessels referencing specific porcelain forms from Korea’s Joseon dynasty. Drawing upon the history and cultural significance of Korean ceramics, the vessels connect traditional forms with contemporary concerns. Presented in states of collapse, they evoke the fragility of established structures and the disruption of social order and harmony. Their damaged forms suggest a world in which stability has been unsettled, creating space for reflection on the values that sustain a society.

Emerging from these fractured vessels, the Saryeong take on a renewed significance. As symbols of wisdom, virtue, endurance, and balance, they are brought forth to restore harmony and peace during times of societal disruption. By bringing together ancient mythology and the material language of Korean porcelain, this work explores the enduring relevance of cultural traditions and the possibility of renewal amid uncertainty.

1 & 2: “Bonghwang (Phoenix)”, 13 x 19.5 x 15″
3 & 4: “Yong (Dragon)”, 14 x 13 x 14″
5 & 6: Geobuk (Turtle/Tortoise), 12 x 14 x 16″
7 & 8: “Girin”, 12 x 16 x 16″

All works were produced in 2026 from porcelain, copper inlay, glaze. Photos courtesy of the artist

➡️ Email [email protected] to inquire for availability.
➡️ Link in bio for our recent newsletter about the work in the exhibition.

ARTIST TALK TONIGHT | “For the Time Being” with Beth Lipman at the International Museum of Dinnerware DesignWednesday, O...
10/14/2026

ARTIST TALK TONIGHT | “For the Time Being” with Beth Lipman at the International Museum of Dinnerware Design
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 6:30pm EST

Join Beth Lipman and the International Museum of Dinnerware Design for a virtual artist talk, part of the “IMoDD Unforgettable Dinnerware” lecture series, generously supported by Illiana van Meeteren. Lipman, known for her intricate still life sculptures, will explore the roll of dinnerware in hr work, alongside themes of material culture and temporality. Register for this free event through DinnerwareMuseum (see the link in their bio) to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary art’s relationship with domestic objects.

ABOUT LIPMAN:
Beth Lipman is an American artist whose sculptural practice generates from the Still Life genre, symbolically representing the splendor and excess of the Anthropocene and the stratigraphic layer humanity will leave on earth. Assemblages of inanimate objects and domestic interiors, inspired by private spaces and public collections, propose portraits of individuals, institutions, and societies. In this lecture, Lipman will discuss the vital role dinnerware, domestic objects and interiors play in her sculptural compositions.

Lipman also explores aspects of material culture and deep time through still lives, site-specific installations, and photographs. Ephemeral and intricate, the work addresses mortality, materiality, and temporality. Lipman is also known for site responsive installations that activate the specific history of objects, individuals and institutions. ReGift, a site specific installation investigating Florence Scott Libbey, is currently on view at the Toledo Museum of Art. Lipman lives and works in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.

1: Beth Lipman, installation Laid (Time-) Table with Cycads
2: Beth Lipman, artist portrait, Kristina Broughton Photography

Since 2015, Ferrin Contemporary has had the pleasure of working with Peter Pincus, witnessing the development of his pra...
10/07/2026

Since 2015, Ferrin Contemporary has had the pleasure of working with Peter Pincus, witnessing the development of his practice and career.

Peter’s work was shown regularly at our North Adams gallery, beginning with “Glazed and Defused” and followed by solo shows featuring new works exploring two major influences: Josiah Wedgwood and Sol LeWitt. In 2018, funded research at the Birmingham Museum of Art into the life, practice, and innovation of Josiah Wedgwood led to “Channeling Josiah Wedgwood” and Peter’s work was added to their permanent collection.

Two years later “Art in the Age of Influence: Peter Pincus | Sol LeWitt” featured a series of new works created in direct response to two of Lewitt’s works from his 100 + works at MASS MoCA (located, at the time, adjacent to Ferrin Contemporary’s gallery). In 2023 at RIT (where Peter is an associate professor), “The Incomplete Collection” featured multiple works presented in linear installations produced during dedicated time to develop complex color theories and use of experimental technologies.

Since then, Peter and Laurie have been working quietly in their collaborative studio (PincUS) on a recently announced project with Glenmorangie in Scotland for the distillery’s 50th Anniversary. This culminating project, plus the launch of Peter and Laurie’s new website (pincusporcelain.com), are major milestones that will only lead to even brighter horizons... In celebration, we look back on the PincUS journey through photos...

Congrats Peter and Laurie!

Read more in our recent newsletter.

1: Courtesy of Glenmorangie
2, 3, 4: Courtesy of John P***k
5: Courtesy of the artist
6: Courtesy of Clay Patrick McBride
7: Courtesy of Glenmorangie
8: Courtesy of Elizabeth Lamark

Congratulations Peter & Laurie Pincus and Glenmorangie for their incredible work together. Our newsletter today traces t...
10/06/2026

Congratulations Peter & Laurie Pincus and Glenmorangie for their incredible work together. Our newsletter today traces the path they took, one challenge, one project, one work at a time.

ARTIST TALK TONIGHT: After the Island: Ornament and Ceramic Practice in the Jamaican Diaspora with Jacqueline BishopJoin...
09/30/2026

ARTIST TALK TONIGHT: After the Island: Ornament and Ceramic Practice in the Jamaican Diaspora with Jacqueline Bishop

Join the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) for an Artist Talk with the three artists from “After the Island: Ornament and Ceramic Practice in the Jamaican Diaspora” – PJ Anderson, Jacqueline Bishop and Sharon Norwood, in conversation with Curator Key Jo Lee.
‍
The exhibition considers how culture is carried across migration and remade through distance. Each artist approaches Jamaica from a different point along the diasporic continuum: through lived memory, inherited history, or an ancestral connection reconstructed across generations. Their works reveal ornament as a living language, capable of holding what has been remembered, fragmented, lost, and newly imagined.

In-person at MoAD
Wed, Sep 30, 2026 | 6-8pm PDT

“After the Island: Ornament and Ceramic Practice in the Jamaican Diaspora” includes two new series by Jacqueline Bishop: “A Way Outa No Way – Charleston Ladies (set of 15)”, 2026, and “Song of The Banana Man (set of 12)”, 2026. The exhibition is organized in partnership with the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON, and will remain on view from September 30, 2026 through May 30, 2027.

Learn more on MoAD’s website under their events calendar.

Images courtesy of the artist, Jacqueline Bishop.

MOCA/NY | 72 HOURS IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTSThree Days on a Ceramic Road Trip: Winding Through Mill Towns, Studios, and M...
09/28/2026

MOCA/NY | 72 HOURS IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

Three Days on a Ceramic Road Trip: Winding Through Mill Towns, Studios, and Museums Across Scenic Western Massachusetts

By: Leslie Ferrin, Shay Ye & Isabel Twanmo

This summer Ferrin Contemporary and Project Art teamed up with MOCA/NY to collaborate on a 72 Hour Ceramics Guide to Western Massachusetts. The guide came together when Project Art Intern and Alfred Scholar, Shay Ye, gathered research from over 20 studio visits, interviews and area museums to compile a list of destinations, with many now featured on the Ceramic World Destinations Map. Additional credit goes to editorial support from MOCA/NY’s team led by Executive Director, Ilsy Jeon, and Ferrin Contemporary’s Communications Coordinator Isabel Twanmo. The result... a comprehensive overview of where to see and learn about local ceramics, what to eat, and everything in between.

“We are so pleased that Western Mass is now available in MOCA/NY’s series of 72 hour guides exploring and connecting ceramic communities at locations throughout the world.”
-Leslie Ferrin

Thank you to MOCA/NY for including Western Massachusetts in your series on global ceramic destinations; the museums, artists, and restaurants for contributing photos; and to Shay Ye for your hours of research and studio visits.

Read the full guide https://moca-ny.org/2026/09/16/72-hours-in-western-massachusetts/

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY | FALL 2026Fall has arrived in Cummington, MA, with glimmers of red and yellow spreading quickly. At...
09/25/2026

FERRIN CONTEMPORARY | FALL 2026

Fall has arrived in Cummington, MA, with glimmers of red and yellow spreading quickly. At Ferrin Contemporary, we recently unveiled exhibitions by Sergei Isupov and Kadri Pärnamets in our Summer Gallery. New public art sculptures were installed in the “Portal Gallery”, visible from Main Street, and throughout the Project Art gardens.

Across the country, Ferrin Contemporary artists are engaged in current and upcoming exhibitions at galleries and museums. These exhibitions take form in collaboration with curators, galleries, and with the generous support of grants and foundations. If you can, visit in person or explore them online in this week’s newsletter.

If you’re in the area, we invite you to visit Ferrin Contemporary at Project Art to tour new installations, available works, and public artworks visible from Main Street.

Read this week’s newsletter in the link in our bio.

1: “Kadri Pärnamets: MURAKA II”, on view at Ferrin Contemporary. John P***k Photography
2: Mara Superior, “The Pursuit of Happiness”, on view at The MET. Courtesy of The MET.
3: Jacqueline Bishop’s “Song of The Banana Man (set of 12)”, on view in “After the Island: Ornament and Ceramic Practice in the Jamaican Diaspora” at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Image courtesy of Kala Stein
4: “Sergei Isupov: REUNITED, 20 Years at Project Art” on view at Ferrin Contemporary. John P***k Photography
5: Sergei Isupov on view in the Portal Gallery at Project Art
6: Paul Scott’s “Cumbrian Blue(s), New American Scenery Broken Treaties, Standing Rock/1, (after Ryan Vizzions, with Mega May Plenty Chief, Lakota Oyate on horseback)” on view at the Norman Rockwell Museum in “American Stories: From Revolution to Rockwell”
7: Cristina Córdova, “Cosmología isleña” on view at the Renwick this Fall. John P***k Photography
8: Kadri Pärnaments on view in “Revolutionary Teapots” at Chesterwood, Stockbridge, MA.
9: Sergei Isupov’s tree figures, Project Art, Cummington, MA
10: Cristina Córdova, “EVA XV”, on view as part of the Figge Art Museum’s permanent collection.

SERGEI ISUPOV & KADRI PÄRNAMETS in: Ceramists’ Union Annual Exhibition “Silent Resonance”, Rakvere, EstoniaThis Summer, ...
09/21/2026

SERGEI ISUPOV & KADRI PÄRNAMETS in: Ceramists’ Union Annual Exhibition “Silent Resonance”, Rakvere, Estonia

This Summer, Sergei Isupov and Kadri Pärnamets traveled to Estonia for their yearly visit home. In between working on the construction of their family home, the two artists created new multimedia works for “Silent Resonance”, an annual exhibition presented by the Estonian Ceramists’ Association. Each artwork was a response to the exhibition’s core topic: sound. Isupov’s piece utilized nails and wood from the home renovation as well as ceramic animal figures, with Pärnamets introducing biomorphic forms inspired by past series’ to explore balance, resonance, and behavior.

ABOUT:
“silent resonance” is a group exhibition in which ceramics and sound meet not through direct “musicality,” but through behavior: how ceramic form, mass, surface, and emptiness affect the space we perceive. A work may function like an acoustic organism – one piece absorbing sound through matte, porous surfaces and soft edges; another reflecting it through glossy glaze, tense arches, and hard surfaces; a third dispersing it through rhythmic reliefs and fragmented geometry.

Silence becomes the exhibition’s supporting material. “Silence” as a formal decision – an omitted detail, a break in a pattern – and “listening” as a way of looking. As part of this, visitors are encouraged to physically engage with many of the pieces through touch, movement, and activation.

This exhibition is organized by the Estonian Ceramists’ Association and curated by Cristopher Siniväli.

“Silent Resonance”
Ukuaru Gallery, Vabaduse 4, Rakvere, Estonia
September 5 - October 31, 2026
feat. Sergei Isupov & Kadri Pärnamets

Sergei Isupov, “Silent Resonance”, 2026, wood, metal nails, porcelain, 32 x 24 x 72”

Kadri Pärnaments, “Silent Resonance”, 2026, porcelain, metal wire, black stoneware, 21 x 27 x 14 (approx)

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54 Main Street
Cummington, MA
01026

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