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The Roundtable

Ceramics are having a moment at The Tang

By Joe Donahue

Published April 9, 2026 at 11:12 AM EDT

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Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College

At the Tang Museum at Skidmore College, ‘Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes’ surveys more than thirty years of work by one of the most inventive artists working in ceramics today. Butterly is known for small-scale sculptures that are technically daring, expressive, and often witty.

At the Schick Art Gallery in Skidmore’s art building, ‘Earthbound’ brings together work by eleven contemporary ceramic artists. Their work ranges in techniques and aesthetic approaches from figurative to abstract, and from functional to fantastical.

And opening Saturday at The Hyde Collection is ‘Toshiko Takaezu: Voices of Abstraction.’ Takaezu was known for her ceramic forms and expressive glazes, and the exhibition places her work in dialogue with painters including Sam Gilliam, Adolph Gottlieb, and Lee Krasner.

Joining us this morning - Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang; Rebecca Shepard, Director of the Schick Art Gallery; and Jill Fishon-Kovachick, founder of the Saratoga Clay Arts Center and curator of 'Toshiko Takaezu: Voices of Abstraction.'

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Joe Donahue

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.

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