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keaneart120A new exhibit by landscape architect, writer, and artist Marc Peter Keane opens at the Nevin Welcome Center of Cornell Plantations on March 1, and will run until April 30, 2013. Mr. Keane’s exhibit, Ceramics from the Garden, are works made from substrates of leaves and meadows grasses, some of which were harvested at Plantations itself. The works, which resemble nests and cocoons, are fired for 5 days in a traditional Japanese wood-kiln.

The color patterns and textures of the surfaces are the result of the serendipitous effects of flame on raw clay.  The exhibit will also include two ceramic pieces by Momoko Takeshita Keane, Marc’s wife and noted sculptor.

There will be an opening night reception on March 1, from 5-7 pm, where the artists will be on hand to discuss their exhibits; Mr. Keane will also discuss his proposed design for Cornell Plantations’ planned Six Friends East Asian Garden.  This contemporary garden is based on the traditional designs and cultures of China, Japan, and Korea.

Mr. Keane is a graduate of Cornell University; he lived and worked in Kyoto, Japan for 18 years, and has traveled extensively in Asia.  In addition to his work as a landscape architect, Keane has published several books on the design of Asian Gardens, and poetry.  His most recent garden, The Tiger Glen Garden, was completed in 2011 at the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University.  Ms. Takeshita Keane was raised in Kyoto, Japan.  She began studying as a potter in the famous kiln-town of Shigaraki.  She went on to study in the Kyoto Laboratory of Traditional Crafts, learning many aspects of traditional glazes and clay bodies.

The Nevin Welcome Center is located at 124 Comstock Knoll Drive in the botanical garden of Cornell Plantations.

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