Installation view, "Clay Pop" at Jeffrey Deitch, New York. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.
Installation view, "Clay Pop" at Jeffrey Deitch, New York. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.

From the opalescent glazes of the self-proclaimed Mad Potter of Biloxi George Ohr to the art collective Gelitin’s simulation of sex with raw clay, ceramics have long been a site of avant-garde experimentation. Now, “Clay Pop,” a group show curated by Alia Williams at Jeffrey Deitch in New York, follows a cohort of artists pushing the medium forward in strange, wonderful new directions.

For the 36 artists included in the show, “the range of influences encompasses vernacular commercial imagery and artistic sources from African American assemblage to Walt Disney,” and everything in between, according to a statement from the gallery.

Seth Bogart’s How to Get Rid of Pimples, Valley of the Dolls, Hollywood Babylon, and DRUGS (all 2021). Photo: Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch.

Many of the works on view seem to recreate everyday objects, but if done by a mad scientist. Seth Bogart’s ceramics take the shape of well-loved paperbacks with lightly tattered dog-eared pages.

Then there’s Sally Saul’s forlorn-looking woman who’s a little rough around the edges. It reminds us of real life, but messier, and more fun to look at.

“Clay Pop,” curated by Alia Williams, is on view at Jeffrey Deitch, 18 Wooster Street, through October 30. See more pictures from the show below.

Masato Mori, Bamboo Dance (2021). ©Masato Mori. Courtesy of Nanzuka.

Installation view, “Clay Pop” at Jeffrey Deitch, New York. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.

Rubi Neri, Clay Pop (2021). Photo: Joshua White. Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York.

Installation view, “Clay Pop” at Jeffrey Deitch, New York. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.

Installation view, “Clay Pop” at Jeffrey Deitch, New York. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.

Installation view, “Clay Pop” at Jeffrey Deitch, New York. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.

Genesis Belanger, Good Guy (2021) [detail]. Courtesy of the Artist and Perrotin. Photo: Guillaume Ziccarell.

Jessica Stoller, Untitled (embrace) (2021). Photo: Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Heidi Lau, Play I and Play II (2021). Photo: Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Devin B. Johnson, Adornment V (In which it was grown over), (2021). Photo: Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Untitled (2020). Courtesy the artist and kuafmann repetto Milan / New York. Photo: Greg Carideo.

Melvino Garetti, It’s Only a Matter of Time…I Haven’t Whipped Any Ass Around Here (2020). Photo: Paul Salveson. Courtesy of the Artist and Parker Gallery, Los Angeles.

Seth Bogart, Valley of the Dolls (2021). Photo by Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Sharif Farrag, Big Dog (Guardian), (2021). Photo by Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Katie Stout, Frog Rider (2021). Photo: Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Bari Ziperstein, Farm Labor: Handwork + Technology (2021). Photo by Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.

Sally Saul, Thinking Things Over (2021). Photo by Genevieve Hanson. Courtesy of the artist and Jeffrey Deitch, New York.