El Puente & Of Hand and Earth

According to a poll conducted in 2017, almost half of American adults don’t know Puerto Ricans are fellow U.S. citizens. This oversight underscores how, as phrased by Penland Gallery, these two territories are “inextricably connected yet distinctly separate, sometimes with intention and at times unconsciously.” In September, the gallery will explore the complex relationship between the island and the mainland during El Puente (or “The Bridge”). Co-curated by Cristina Córdova, the show focuses on Puerto Rican artists who have “cultivated long- and short-term connections with the United States throughout their formative and professional trajectories.” In doing so, the display offers “insights into how these connections shape and inform the artistic practices, perspectives, and creative trajectories of Puerto Rican artists and consequently feed into the broader landscape of contemporary American craft in an evolving and continuous dynamic.” This fall, the gallery will also present Of Hand and Earth, a duo show of work by ceramicists Hitomi and Takuro Shibata. Originally from Japan, Hitomi and Takuro relocated to Seagrove, North Carolina, in 2005 to make vessels using simple tools, locally harvested clays, and wood firing methods.