Raheleh Filsoofi (left) and Eric André (right) use clay to express a sense of common humanity and to convey provocative ideas about identity and freedom. Filsoofi is originally from Tehran, Iran, while André is originally from Ashanti Region, Ghana. Courtesy Amir Aghareb (Filsoofi) And Laurie Hasan (André).
Two Artists Express Ideas of Identity and Freedom.
By Richard Reep
Squeezing wet clay into a pot and then firing it has to be one of the most satisfying art experiences ever, for both beginners and experts. That might be why clay pots are found worldwide going back to prehistoric times and why it remains a favorite medium for artists.
Clay combines earth, air, fire, water and a fifth element— human creativity. See for yourself on Friday, September 13, at the Crealdé School of Art and the Hannibal Square Heritage Center, where there’ll be opening receptions for a new exhibition: Raheleh Filsoofi and Eric
André: From Common Clay.
The reception at Crealdé’s Alice & William Jenkins Gallery—where the exhibition will be on view through January 2025—will run from 7 to 9 p.m. The reception at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Visiting Exhibition Gallery will run from 8 to 10 p.m. and will feature live music.
Jeff Rogers, an instructor and ceramics program studio manager at Crealdé, says that Filsoofi and André use clay “to express a sense of common humanity among us with provocative ideas about identity and freedom.”
Filsoofi, who describes herself as an “itinerant artist,” has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran, and an MFA from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. She is currently an assistant professor of ceramics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
On Saturday and Sunday, November 2 and 3, Filsoofi and her husband, Reza—a singer and songwriter born in Tehran—will conduct a two-day weekend workshop about the art of crafting the darbuka, a beautiful ceramic goblet-shaped drum that’s traditional to middle eastern music.
André is from Ashanti Region, Ghana, and studied art at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He then moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to complete an MFA at the University of Arkansas before accepting a visiting professor position at DeLand’s Stetson University in 2020.
He has taught ceramics workshops at Crealdé and is now a visiting assistant professor of studio and 3D art at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. His work has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions and included in group exhibitions in Ghana and across the United States.
The Crealdé School of Art is located at 600 North St. Andrews Boulevard, Winter Park. The Hannibal Square Heritage Center is located at 642 West New England Avenue, Winter Park. For more information, call 407.671.1886 or visit crealde.org.
