Convivium is a nod to the synergy that occurs at gatherings, celebrations, and occurrences of the bacchanal. 1,700 halved goblets convey a monoculture or field of one type, each incomplete without the next, but in their entirety form a dizzying pattern in reference to tile, agriculture, and architecture.

The forty foot long table is made of poplar and sheet glass. These refined, yet raw materials in concert with the unglazed porcelain suggest the moment of anticipation, the time where the table is set, the doors are about to open and people activate the work. 

The title is in reference to the cohorts/chapters of the Slow Food movement and points the conceptual backing of this piece towards 21st century food politics.  

The halved goblet references the analytical nature of model and mold making in industrial ceramics, while it also provides a flat plane and a straight line, to juxtapose the hemispherical containment of the goblet. The forms are slip casting using porcelain and plaster molds and fired to a temperature that does not fully vitrify the clay, retaining a porosity that absorbs the light much like the soft poplar wood of the table.

480” l x 48” w x 36” h

(1219 cm x 122 cm x 91.4 cm)

Porcelain, unfinished custom milled poplar, glass

2008-2009