The exhibition opens at noon on Sunday, March 26th with a series of performances. At 1pm I will perform on ceramic sculptures that reimagine Biblical musical instruments with collaborators Kenny Wollesen, Kirk Knuffke, and Madeleine Ventrice-Knuffke.
Julia Elsas x 20x200 →
The All is a Miracle Dreidel, a limited edition collaboration sold exclusively through 20x200 is now live! This project has been in the works for many months and I’m so excited about how it turned out!
Standing approximately 3.5" wide and 2.75" tall on the base, the dreidels were inspired by the exuberant shapes, colors, and textures seen in the sculptures of Peter Shire and Ron Nagel.
The text “All is a Miracle,” is from Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation, and is written in both English and Hebrew on the top of the dreidel. Using the richly reflective palladium glaze on a wedge shaped base, I designed my dreidels to rest playfully tilted atop the stand so that the words are mirrored on the surface.
You can read more about the project on the 20x200 blog.
SONIC MUD at the Whitney Museum Shop →
I’m thrilled that the Whitney Museum Shop purchased a large selection of my SONIC MUD instruments! Next time you are visiting the Museum, you can view them in the store.
Sign up for my mailing list to learn about upcoming SONIC MUD performances.
October Open Studios | Sunset Park, Brooklyn →
I hope you can visit my studio during the Sunset Park Open Wide (SPOW) Open Studios!
My studio will be open on Friday, October 14th from 6-9pm and
Saturday, October 15 from 1-5pm
I’m in the NARS Foundation / J&M Studio Building in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
201 46th Street, FL 2, Studio #223
Brooklyn, NY 11220
This year, Sunset Park Wide Open will be held from October 14 - 16! This three day event aims to reinforce the ties between local organizations, artists and the community in Sunset Park and neighboring areas by opening the doors of our South Brooklyn community.
Over 15 organizations and artist studios will have their doors open to visitors during the Sunset Park Wide Open weekend. Don't miss it!
Promotional support for Sunset Park Wide Open provided in part by the NYC & Company Foundation and the Office of The Brooklyn Borough President, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council. Thank you to all of our generous sponsors for their support of Sunset Park Wide Open!
SONIC MUD at Printed Matter / St. Marks →
O by Tammy Nguyen Launch Party with music by Sonic Mud
Printed Matter/ St. Marks
38 St Marks Pl, NYC
September 17, 2022
4:30 - 7:00 PM
Performance and Reading start at 5:00 PM
Printed Matter / St Marks is excited to host the launch of artist Tammy Nguyen’s new book, O, published by Ugly Duckling Presse, on the rooftop of 38 St Marks Pl.
Tammy will be reading from O accompanied by ensemble Sonic Mud, who will make music using handmade ceramic instruments. Following the reading we’ll have a reception with music and Vietnamese snacks!
About the book: From a dentist’s office in San Francisco to the caves of the Phong Nha Karst, Tammy Nguyen’s O sounds the depths of personal, mineral, and geopolitical histories of Vietnam. In this many-threaded narrative, a wind that carved mountains whistles through a young girl’s teeth. The electric green of a plastic forest glints off of glazed porcelain. The shape of a bowl becomes the mouth of a cave. What emerges is a story without a center: an anti-allegory that finds its meaning in echoes and refracted light, a book stitched together by the O woven through the work as its visual spine and sonic refrain.
Chime Choir at Cooler Gallery →
Julia Elsas
Chime Choir
10/26 - 11/28/2020
Cooler Gallery
22 Waverly Ave, Brooklyn
M-F 10-5pm, Sat 11-4pm
Please email info@cooler-gallery.com to schedule your visit.
Chime Choir by Julia Elsas is an installation of 1,250 microtonal porcelain chimes. Visitors are invited to interact with the installation and play the chimes with felt hand mallets provided, adding their own music to a continuous loop in the cooler space. The sound loop was created by musicians Kenny Wollesen and William Shore, together with Elsas. They recorded the piece in February 2020 at Figure 8 studio.
Elsas created Chime Choir to be an encompassing communal instrument that people could move in and out of and play freely, simultaneously alone and together over a span of time. Elsas aims to create an environment in which everyone may feel embraced and touched by the music of Chime Choir. COVID-19 forces us to restrict freer movement and limit entrance to one masked and gloved player at a time.
Chime Choir grew out of Elsas’s ongoing exploration of the sonic potential of sculpture. She considers her sculptures to be fully realized when they are being played. To this end, she has organized a series of one-night musical performances, under the name SONIC MUD, which brings together her ceramic instruments and established musicians.
An outdoor reception and performance with SONIC MUD (Eléonore Weill, Julia Elsas, Katie Down, Kenny Wollesen, Kirk Knuffke) and Matt Evans will take place at Cooler Gallery on Tuesday, November 10th, 7-9 pm.
Shofar Meditations →
Shofar Meditations is a new collaboration and performance piece with Brooklyn visual artist Julia Elsas and musician/composer Jessica Lurie. Lurie and Elsas created five new ceramic Shofars to be played in combination with Western instruments, exploring and interpreting the rhythms, sounds and meanings behind the blasts of the Shofar. This project was supported by the Brooklyn Jews and the New Jewish Culture Fellowship.
Interview on The Ceramics Podcast →
My interview with Cammi Climaco and Gustav Hamilton on The Ceramics Podcast was recorded before the arrival of COVID 19 in New York. We talk about my Sonic Mud collaboration with Kenny Wollesen, winging it, and slowing down.
Carleton College Alumni Magazine Interview
Read the interview Dustin Yager and I had with Karen Kedmey for the Carleton College alumni magazine here.