Lawton Gallery prepares for Heuer’s ‘mini-retrospective’

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will host what is being called a ‘mini-retrospective’ of the ceramics and assemblages of Curt Heuer, professor emeritus of Arts and Visual Design.

Entitled “One Stumbles Into a Coincidence,” the exhibit will be on display Feb. 4 – 25 in the Lawton Gallery, which is located in Theatre Hall, on the UW-Green Bay campus, 2420 Nicolet Drive. It will include works created during Heuer’s long career as a ceramicist, artist and teacher. He began teaching in 1978 and retired in July 2009.

“I think that to some people this will look like the work of several different artists,” Heuer said. “There’s sculpture and ceramics and mixed-media pieces and decorative vessels.”

A native New Yorker, Heuer began his college career as a math major, then switched to English. However, one semester he was late in registering for classes and found himself in a ceramics class. In a sense he stumbled into coincidence.

“I think I failed English, but got an ‘A’ in ceramics,” he jokes. “What I like about ceramics is its physicality. There’s chemistry and geology and thermodynamics.”

And of course – art.

Part of the challenge and thrill of a retrospective is revisiting the past.

“When I first started thinking about this, I considered about 65-70 pieces that I own, or could at least get my hands on,” he said. “It’s interesting to go back. Some of the work I hadn’t seen for awhile, and I was pleased to see it again.”

An opening reception will be held 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., on Feb. 4, with an artist’s talk at 5 p.m. There will also be an artist’s lunchtime gallery talk from noon to 1 p.m. on Feb. 17.

Contact Lawton Gallery Curator Stephen Perkins for further information at (920) 465-2916 or perkinss@uwgb.edu.
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