Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo G.S. Vaiana

CELEBRATIONS OF THE BICENTENARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF CERES

STAR DANCERS

Exhibition of ceramic works by Daniel Oberti

29 December 2000 - 11 January 2001

Libreria del Mare, Via Cala 50, Palermo

Daniel Oberti, ceramicist and sculptor, balances the cosmos in his mind while shaping clay in orbs - he calls them "Spheres of Influence" - or tracing star paths on contoured slabs entitled, "Star Platters." This exhibition at Libreria Del Mare features his newest ceramic works based on collaborations between an Artist and an astronomer: "Star Dancers". The ' Star Dancer' collaboration emerged from a friendship that began in Malta at the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena Conference, INSAP II. While there, Daniel met Maria Sundin, an astronomer based at Gothenburg University and Chalmers Institute of Technology. A mutual interest sparked their work together. "The gravitational field in this galaxy looks like an oval volcano," Sundin says. "Imagine a deep center with sides rising up to the crater rim. The bowl of the volcano is the bar, and the stars dance along the sides of the bowl." Yes, Oberti can imagine that, and make art of the thought.

On some platters he's incised dancers whose gestures are cast by the most ancient technique of stabbing moist stoneware clay with a slender stylus, suggesting flesh and motion. In each piece he works, Oberti untangles earth and sun, clay and fire, and wraps them in cosmological beauty. He makes these things in awe.
"Born in San Francisco, son of a Genovese ravioli maker and a French Laundry mistress, my heritage is Mediterranean and my consciousness European. My work is created like that of an old world craftsman, using natural clays, glazes and colorants produced from pure metal oxides such as copper, iron, manganese and cobalt."

Mr. Oberti lives and maintains his studio in the wine region of Northern California. His works can be
viewed at: http://www.danieloberti.com

This event is sponsored by: