Curatorial Notes

The artist-couple, Tessy and Jon Pettyjohn present a rare collaboration: in the middle of their space, grows a forest of ceramic columns; alternating colors and forms from two artists. This brings out the contrast between their works; how the different kinds of clays, and glazes, play each other up when brought together.

Ceramics for the Pettyjohns is not a finite artifact, it is a continuous way of life. “It is like food, the same way that the best food comes from the intermixing of cultures.” They see the same thing in ceramic arts: inspiration

comes from works from far away or from a different time, and when we converge, the practice just gets better and better.

–Carla Gamalinda

About the Artist

Jon Pettyjohn (b.1950, Okinawa, Japan), together with wife Tessy, is considered one of the pioneers of contemporary Philippine ceramics. For the past 38 years he has worked passionately in the realm of high fire Asian style ceramics. Although mostly functional he also sometimes explores the boundaries between the utilitarian and the sculptural, which he feels strongly, are of equal importance. The exploration for and use indigenous natural materials like clay, stones and ashes for ceramics are one of his major focus. Since 2000 he has concentrated on woodfiring using Anagamas (cave kilns) known for their rich natural glaze affects.

From a handful of contemporary potters in the 1970’s the ceramic scene has grown exponentially in part from the Pettyjohn’s influence on a new generation of clay artists many of whom have been their apprentices or students.

Tessy Pettyjohn is a renowned pioneer of Philippine pottery, clay art, and sculpture. Starting her craft in the late 1970s, she has had many shows both here and abroad in her long career. Although she has retired from teaching, she now concentrates on doing her own work for exhibits at her Laguna workshop studio. She continues to explore the use of indigenous Philippine clays, pigments, and minerals for making high fire ceramics and glazes.

Tessy and her husband Jon are at the forefront of ceramic arts in the Philippines. They have developed over many years, masterpieces, which focus heavily on the use of uniquely Filipino materials.