December 17, 2025

81st Scripps College Ceramic Annual

Means to an End

February 7–April 5, 2026

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.

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.”

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalog featuring an essay by Garth Johnson, Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. It also includes an interview with Del Rosario and Beth Ann Gerstein, executive director of the American Museum of Ceramic Art, as well as a foreword by Erin M. Curtis, Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Director at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery.

Programs

Join the Williamson Gallery for these free, public events presented in conjunction with Means to an End:

Opening Reception
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 7–9 PM Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery

Celebrate eighty-one years of the Scripps College Ceramic Annual with an evening of art, live music by Gold Minutes, and refreshments.

Lecture, Tour, and Tea with Reniel Del Rosario
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 | 2 PM
Clark Humanities Museum and Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery

Join guest curator and ceramic artist Reniel Del Rosario for a talk and tea in the Clark Humanities Museum, followed by a gallery tour of the 81st Scripps College Ceramic Annual.  Many artists work in clay, but for this year’s Ceramic Annual, Del Rosario selected artists who intentionally incorporate ceramics into highly varied artistic practices, even when they could achieve similar results using other media. Del Rosario invites audiences to consider the enduring fascination and infinite potential of clay. Presented in partnership with the Scripps Fine Arts Foundation.

Artists’ Panel & Maker’s Activity
Friday, February 27, 2026 | 3 PM
The Hive

Guest curator and ceramic artist Reniel Del Rosario will be in conversation with artists Karen Kuo, Patrick Martinez, and Victor Saucedo, who use ceramics as part of broader practices spanning diverse media. After the discussion, ceramic artist and Williamson Gallery collections and exhibitions manager T. Robert Pacini will guide registered participants in making their own ceramic work to take home.

Please RSVP to reserve your spot for the art activity. Presented in partnership with The Hive

Donor Support

Means to an End, its companion publication, and related programs have been made possible through the generous support of: