Sergei Isupov
Ray, 2009
Glazed porcelain
Racine Art Museum, Promised Gift of David and Jacqueline Charak
Photography: John Polak

Collection Focus: Sergei Isupov

February 23 – June 8, 2014

Collection Focus: Sergei Isupov—a mid-career retrospective for an innovative artist who has pushed the possibilities of clay. Interested in exploring the dynamics of human relationships, Isupov (born in Stravapol, Russia, 1963) has found a distinctive artistic voice that combines two-dimensional narrative with three-dimensional ceramic form. Imbuing his work with social, cultural, and personal history, Isupov investigates the dynamics of the human condition through complex and compelling compositions. In his pieces, figures in all states of dress or undress—often in isolated or abstracted landscapes—morph and shift as animals become part human or vice-versa.

Isupov is descended from artists—his father imbues paintings with humor, his mother creates sculptural clay vessels of imaginative subjects, and his brother works in mixed media and video. Graduating in 1990 from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia, with both his BA and MFA in ceramics, he won early recognition for his ceramic efforts and was offered an invitational scholarship to the Oslo International Ceramics Symposium the same year he obtained his master’s degree. Shortly after arriving in the US, Isupov was quickly recognized as a talented artist and championed by collectors who helped him become an active participant in the contemporary American ceramics community. Since 2003, he has been living in Massachusetts on the same property as gallery dealer and friend, Leslie Ferrin, in a renovated mill that houses living spaces, studios, a gallery, and gathering sites for artists.

More About the Exhibition

Exhibition Catalogue, available to purchase from the RAM Online Store

Exhibition Notes (PDF)

Collection Focus: Sergei Isupov

February 23 – June 8, 2014
Sergei Isupov
Ray, 2009
Glazed porcelain
Racine Art Museum, Promised Gift of David and Jacqueline Charak
Photography: John Polak

Collection Focus: Sergei Isupov—a mid-career retrospective for an innovative artist who has pushed the possibilities of clay. Interested in exploring the dynamics of human relationships, Isupov (born in Stravapol, Russia, 1963) has found a distinctive artistic voice that combines two-dimensional narrative with three-dimensional ceramic form. Imbuing his work with social, cultural, and personal history, Isupov investigates the dynamics of the human condition through complex and compelling compositions. In his pieces, figures in all states of dress or undress—often in isolated or abstracted landscapes—morph and shift as animals become part human or vice-versa.

Isupov is descended from artists—his father imbues paintings with humor, his mother creates sculptural clay vessels of imaginative subjects, and his brother works in mixed media and video. Graduating in 1990 from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia, with both his BA and MFA in ceramics, he won early recognition for his ceramic efforts and was offered an invitational scholarship to the Oslo International Ceramics Symposium the same year he obtained his master’s degree. Shortly after arriving in the US, Isupov was quickly recognized as a talented artist and championed by collectors who helped him become an active participant in the contemporary American ceramics community. Since 2003, he has been living in Massachusetts on the same property as gallery dealer and friend, Leslie Ferrin, in a renovated mill that houses living spaces, studios, a gallery, and gathering sites for artists.

More About the Exhibition

Exhibition Catalogue, available for purchase on the Online Museum Store

Exhibition Notes (PDF)

Gallery of Work

Exhibitions at RAM are made possible by:

Platinum Sponsors

Judith and David Flegel Fund
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Ron and Judith Isaacs
Nicholas and Nancy Kurten
Windgate Foundation

Diamond Sponsors

Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation
Ruffo Family Foundation

Gold Sponsors
Anonymous
David Charak
Silver Sponsors
Art Bridges
A.C. Buhler Family
Andis Foundation
Baird
Lucy G. Feller
Ben and Dawn Flegel
Annette Hirsh Family
J. Jeffers & Co.
Dorothy MacVicar
RDK Foundation

Jan Serr and John Shannon
Bronze Sponsors

Anonymous
Susan Boland
Virginia Buhler
Butcher & Barrel/Amos Los Tacos
Educators Credit Union
Express Employment Professionals
Get Behind the Arts Studio Tour
William A. Guenther
Tom and Sharon Harty
Tony and Andrea Hauser
David and Judy Hecker
Bradley Lynch
Carlotta Miller
Larry and Barbara Newman
The Norbell Foundation
The Prairie School
Georgiana Treivush
Twin Disc, Inc.
Deb and Will Walker

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