Arts-Entertainment
On June 17th, the Danforth Museum of Art (DMA) will open an exhibit featuring ceramic works by contemporary Montana artists, This Land of Clay. The exhibition will be displayed until Saturday, July 11th.
This Land of Clay explores the human relationships with place, landscape and the land beneath our feet. Along with a history of ceramics in Montana through the work of Frances Senska and Peter Voulkous, the eleven featured contemporary Montana artists expand the boundaries of traditional clay work through abstraction, alternative processes, and conceptual creativity.
Many of the works use wild clay harvested from specific locations around the state. Each location offers clay with unique qualities that contribute to the story of the final object. Whether wild or commercial, all clay can be used as a medium for practical objects like cups and plates. Others go beyond the vessel, creating abstract or conceptual pieces, whimsical objects we may or may not recognize, or even dyeing fabric with clay. All of the artists share the careful considerations of materials and process of their creations.
As part of the geology of our landscapes, clay has served humans for millennia as a medium for storing and preparing food, expressing social and religious life, and as an economic commodity. From the ancient traditions of Indigenous crockery in the Big Horn mountains to postwar abstract expressionism and today’s generation of wild clay harvesters, the Greater Yellowstone region holds a special place in the thriving world of clay work.
This Land of Clay featured artists include:
- Kelly Stevenson
- Lee Watson
- Miles Heespelink
- Amy Edler
- Dante Gambardella
- Kevin Hock
- Cam Engh
- Sean O’Neill
- Kevin Tracy
- Eliza Weber
- Rachel Marne Jones
- Marie Stevenson
- Emily B. Yang
The DMA will host an opening reception for This Land of Clay on Friday, June 26th from 5:30 to 8 pm during the first Livingston Art Walk of 2026. Admission to the Danforth Museum of Art is always free. The DMA is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 12 to 4 pm.
The Danforth Museum of Art is located at 106 North Main Street in Livingston. For more information, please visit www.thedanforth.org