By Bryan Sullivan

The art of Wayne Higby has traveled around the world. Now his work has come to the Sylvia L. Rosen Gallery at the Burchfield-Penney Art Gallery.

“Thresholds” is the newest display the gallery has and it runs until June 15.

“It’s a very metaphoric work,” said Nancy Weekly, Charles Cary Rumsey curator and head of collections. “His works resonate beautifully.”

Weekly helped to bring the exhibit to the gallery. She feels the gallery needed the opportunity to show works of Higby’s caliber.

“It was a great opportunity for us to show work of an internationally renowned artist,” Weekly said.

Burchfield Penney Executive Director Ted Pietrzak attended the premiere and became a fan of the work.

“It’s an extraordinary exhibition,” Pietrzak said. “It uses landscape as a metaphor to allow us to explore our personal relationship with memories, dramas, or relationship with the world.”

“Thresholds” features the sculpting style of raku-fired earthenware. According to Weekly, the raku style embodies simplicity and humility by using unique, irregular shapes and surface glasses.

In a recent paper written by Weekly she wrote “Thresholds returns Higby to the early days of his career. The works look to challenge the viewer’s meaning of traditional art.”

“It’s meant to give you a sense of space and place in the world using small objects to get you to think more broadly,” Weekly said.

Currently, Higby teaches ceramics at Alfred University and is an honorary professor at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China and College of Fine Arts at Shanghi University.

Higby’s work has been displayed in China, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea. He continues to work on efforts to revitalize Chinese Ceramic Art.

The exhibit is supported by the Helen Drutt Gallery in Philadelphia and Annette Cravens.

Burchfield Penney is free to the public and open everyday except Monday.