Teapots come in all shapes and sizes.
Artist-made teapots, especially, can take the form of just about anything the artist making it can dream up.
But the latest exhibition of artist-made teapots at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery in Shadyside proves that they also can make a statement.
"Teapots! steep in thought" is the gallery's third annual invitational exhibition of its kind, and this time, most of the 30-plus national and international artists included have something to say.
"We asked the artists to respond to the social, political or environmental climate of today," says Craig Falatovich, the gallery's assistant director. "We are living in a historical moment right now. Something historical is going to happen with this election, one way or the other."
Taking this year's theme to heart, many of the participating artists were inspired by financial issues. For example, Philadelphia artist Alex Adams references outsourcing and cheaper production abroad with his "Made in China" teapot. Based on the notion that U.S. consumers are addicted to cheap electronic imports, Adams placed his Asian-inspired teapot on a tiny wooden pallet.
"It is my belief that very soon, fine crafts and art will be the next export from China, and we should be prepared," Adams writes in his statement. "Will these future exports from China truly be handmade by a skilled craftsman or artist⢠Or will they simply be another product arriving in a shipping container and strapped to a pallet?"
Wisconsin artist Stephanie Trenchard also addresses export with her piece "Origin of Content." Featuring nine tiny teapots, each encased in a clear glass block and arranged in a grid, they represent different countries that grow tea. Each teapot is painted with a country's flag, and the back of each block is etched with that country's percentage of the world's tea exports.
"From research, I have created my own export figures, which give a loose idea of proportions," Trenchard says. "Surprisingly, the question of where tea comes from is a mysterious one. The regulations for labeling origin of content are vague. With tea, the country of origin may be where it was blended or bagged, instead of where the organic substance was grown."
Georgia artist Debra Fritts, whose narrative figurative sculptures are world renowned, called her teapot "Too Much" and inscribed it with this message: "So much talk -- What is the truth⢠So much money ... Where is the money ... can't we do better ... Where is the helping hand?" It features a woman muffling her ears, atop of which are a Republican elephant, a Democratic donkey and a dollar sign.
Pittsburgh artist Julie Elkins refers to her work as "isolated worlds ... crumbling buildings, abandoned places, graffiti, waste, dirt, bones, ghosts." Her piece "Let's Go Home Now" features a tiny house precariously perched near the spout of a mountaintop of a teapot made of porcelain.
Some artists chose to address environmental issues.
Philadelphia-based glass artist Lucartha Kohler tackled global warming with her first unique, blown- and cast-glass teapot. The piece, aptly titled "Global Warming," resembles a globe with a cloud on top.
"We drink tea while the planet is sinking," she writes in her statement. "We are doing more to harm our planet now than ever before and are seemingly less concerned about it. The polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, and we are not doing much to stop it."
In a lighter vein, flameworker Tim Drier, an instructor at Corning Studios in New York who recently taught at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, debuts in the gallery with a teapot titled "Bla,Bla,Blaa." A round black vessel, the work is has the words from its title extending in white from the body, as if steam dissipating into the air.
Drier describes his piece as "My in-depth view of politics."
Finally, what would be a topical-themed art exhibit if at least one piece didn't address the current price of crude oil and gasolineâ¢
Greg Fidler of North Carolina comes through with "Crude," in which a teapot shaped like a gas pump sits next to a perfect teardrop-shaped glob of black glass. There's no missing the point of that piece -- every drop is precious.
Of course, there are many more points of view in this provocative show, making it well worth blocking off a reasonable amount of time to visit the gallery.
Additional Information:'Teapots! steep in thought'
What: An invitational exhibition of sculptural teapots in a variety of media by more than 30 national and international artists
When: Through Dec. 31. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, noon-5 p.m. Saturdays
Where: Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, 5833 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside
Details: 412-441-5200 or online
