The Scripps College Ceramic Annual, the longest continuous exhibition of contemporary ceramics in the United States, enters its ninth decade with Means to an End. Guest curated by ceramic artist Reniel Del Rosario, this exhibition considers contemporary artists’ enduring fascination with clay, a medium that demands precision, patience, and resilience. The artists in this exhibition embrace clay’s challenges, using ceramics as a springboard for innovation and dialogue across diverse media.
Del Rosario has selected works by artists who integrate ceramics into broader artistic approaches, combining clay with video, collage, painting, performance, and more. Works by Debra Broz, Paola de la Calle, Cathy Della Lucia, Fred DeWitt, Matt Goldberg, Dana Hemenway, Stephanie Temma Hier, Haylie Jimenez, Sahar Khoury, Karen Kuo, Cathy Lu, Kari Marboe, Patrick Martinez, and Victor Saucedo challenge conventional ideas about the utility and limitations of the medium and demonstrate its unique dynamism. Collectively, these artists reveal clay’s enduring relevance to and pervasive presence in contemporary art.
“I wanted to curate a Ceramic Annual that feels distinctly nontraditional,” says Del Rosario. “The artists in Means to an End work in ceramics almost by coincidence—there are many other ways they could create their objects. But there is this innate pull, an adoration of ceramics, that makes them utilize the material. It is one of the most exciting and flexible materials to work with.”
Opening Reception
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 7–9 PM
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery
The gallery is open Wednesday – Sunday | Noon – 5pm
[image: Debra Broz, Dog Pheasant (Collie) and Dog Pheasant (Saint Bernard), 2023. Found ceramics and mixed media. Photograph by Sean Meredith; courtesy of Track 16 Gallery}