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Fiction: A Figurative Abstraction Exhibit of Clay Monoprints
This Friday, January 2nd, I’ll have an exhibit opening featuring clay monoprint works — a medium developed in Pennsylvania. The collection of works focuses on art that can be considered figurative abstraction: recognizable, real-world forms portrayed in abstract ways.
“Fiction” Exhibit Opens January 2nd, 2026
This Friday, January 2nd, I’ll have an exhibit opening featuring clay monoprint works — a medium developed in Pennsylvania. The collection of works focuses on art that can be considered figurative abstraction: recognizable, real-world forms portrayed in abstract ways. See the works and other exhibits on First Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.
"Fiction"
Clay Monoprint Exhibit
Adams County Arts Council
125 S. Washington Street, Gettysburg, PA
January 2026
First Friday Reception:
Friday, January 2nd, 2026
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Exhibit Artist Statement:
Artist Statement for Fiction
(Adams County Arts Council, January 2026)
In Fiction, I present a body of work that dwells in the space between representation and abstraction. Each piece emerges from the clay monoprint process—a method that combines the painter’s intent with the medium’s nature. Working on a slab of clay known as the matrix, I layer pigments and brushstrokes while allowing remnants of previous works to shape its evolving history. The results are neither purely imagined nor purely seen; they are translations of process and imagination into visual form.
The clay monoprint art form is relatively new, and many works are experiments that resist easy classification within traditional styles or movements. For this exhibit, I use the phrase “material-oriented figurative abstraction” because it captures that tension: forms may suggest vessels, landscapes, or other familiar objects, yet they never resolve into literal images. Instead, they become echoes of both past and present. The clay, pigment, and chance determine as much of the outcome as my own intent. The way the clay transfers to the material (often Pellon) becomes part of the work’s meaning, influencing future prints. Process and material are inseparable from the final image.
The matrix itself is a record: each layer of clay slips and pigment, embedded into the clay slab, is captured in time. I do not erase those echoes; I lean into them. Layers accumulate, and remnants of earlier imagery reappear unexpectedly, as though the clay recalls its past and chooses to speak. In this way, the material is both subject and medium, holding within it the memory of this transformation.
The title “Fiction” suggests that what you are seeing is not a direct representation of something tangible—it is a narrative shaped by memory, of what remains after the artist and chance collide. Even when a work seems to reference something familiar, it is always a story built from clay, artist marks, and the intent of the matrix itself.
This collection at the Adams County Arts Council encompasses not only the works on display but also the histories that shaped them. Ultimately, these monoprints are tactile and limited by the present. Peer closely at the surface and recognize that fiction—like art itself—is past and present transformed.
Pennsylvania Farms — In Clay
Thanks to the Brandywine Museum of Art staff for the opportunity to attend a plein air day in October (2024) at the historic Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford.
“Chadds Ford Barn” — Clay Monoprint & Acrylic © Andrew T. Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.
“Farm Field with Flowers” — Clay Monoprint, Watercolor, Colored Pencil, and Acrylic Marker © Andrew T. Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.
Thanks to the Brandywine Museum of Art staff for the opportunity to attend a plein air day in October (2024) at the historic Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford. Andrew Wyeth created over 1,000 works based on people, places, items, and scenes from the farm over a seven-decade period, including over two hundred works with images of Helga Testorf, who was employed at the farm.
A new exhibit focusing on images from the farm is scheduled to open at the Brandywine in June 2025.
I did not take my clay monoprint materials but captured many photographs during the day. While not an attempt to capture the farm literally, the two clay monoprint mixed media works shown here were inspired by the visit. They are currently on display and available for purchase at York, Pennsylvania’s Creatives on King, located at 104 E. King Street, York, PA.
Kuerner Farm, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Photograph © Andrew T. Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.
All works copyright Andrew T. Smith
AI Meets the Monoprint
Ready for artificial intelligence to chat with you about clay monoprints? Or perhaps listen to an AI radio segment?
Screenshot of a Google NotebookLM AI based on two Visual Realia webpages.
Google’s experimental (and possibly temporary) AI platform NotebookLM lets users provide text to train their AI on the topic provided. I used two explanatory Visual Realia webpages as the “textbook” for its understanding. You can see the result by clicking here.
In addition to predetermined sections such as an introduction, index, FAQ, and summary, at the bottom, visitors will find a chat box where they can ask questions about the medium. The AI will attempt to answer based on the information gleaned from the sources provided.
An impressive addition is a seven-minute “conversation” between AI characters about clay monoprints, very much like a radio segment or short podcast. You can listen to it below.
What do you think? It’s pretty informative, isn’t it? Give it a listen, then head to the notebook page to see what else you might learn.
Lyons' Share Exhibit Opens September 5th at the Chester County Art Association
The Chester County Art Association shares the works of four active clay monoprint artists in their upcoming exhibit, “Lyons’ Share,” running from September 8th through the 24th. Learn more, including insights from the artists, in the Culture On The Line article linked here.
Culture On The Line article screenshot - © Culture On The Line and Andrew T. Smith
The Chester County Art Association shares the works of four active clay monoprint artists in their upcoming exhibit, “Lyons’ Share,” running from September 8th through the 24th. Learn more, including insights from the artists, in the Culture On The Line article linked here.
"The Lyons' Share"
Chester County Art Association
100 N Bradford Ave, West Chester, PA
Parking Available On-Site.
chestercountyarts.org
September Gallery Hours:
Monday-Friday: 10 AM - 5 PM
Saturday: 10 AM - 4 PM
Closed Sundays
Artists:
Steve Koelsch (skoelsch3@yahoo.com)
Robin Sesan (www.robinsesanart.com)
Andrew Smith (visualrealia.com)
Meredith Wakefield (mitchlyonsstudio.com)
Works by Mitch Lyons (mitchlyonsstudio.com)
"The Lyons' Share" opens on Thursday, September 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, at the Chester County Art Association in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The exhibit, featuring four clay monoprint artists plus representative works of Lyons, runs through September 24th. The Art Association is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that has served the region since 1931.
Visual Realia Exhibit at York's Out Door Country Club
Visual Realia’s (Andrew T. Smith) exhibit at York’s Out Door Country Club
Thanks to the ongoing efforts of Creative York, I have an exhibit of approximately two dozen clay monoprints and photographs at York’s lovely Out Door Country Club. The exhibit runs through July 12th, 2024.
The hallway-based exhibit area naturally allows for sharing monoprints on one side and photographs on the other, essentially providing two mini-exhibits.
For more information on the exhibit, visit the online article on the Culture On The Line website. Works may be purchased here.
“Clay & Pigment” by Andrew T. Smith
Out Door Country Club
May 13 - July 13, 2024
1157 Detwiler Drive, York, PA
Enter Through the Center Doors
Curated by Creative York
All works copyright by Andrew T. Smith and/or Visual Realia, LLC.
Welcome, Hyperallergic Readers
Visual Realia welcomes Hyperallergic readers!
Screenshot of Hyperalleric’s main page, February 15, 2024
The Visual Realia website welcomes visitors from Hyperallergic and thanks Lakshmi Rivera Amin for including us in the February 15th “A View From the Easel” column.
Questions about clay monoprints? Feel free to peruse the website or email me.
Thanks for visiting!
Andy Smith