The diverse peoples of Papua New Guinea maintain some of the most unusual and distinctive ceramic traditions anywhere in the world. Ceramists from this small island nation gather clay from the hills and swamps surrounding their villages and form it into wares that range from superbly functional cooking and storage pots to highly esoteric sacred figures.

 

In "Fowler in Focus: Ceramics of Papua New Guinea" — on view May 25 through Sept. 28 — visitors can see more than 30 fine examples of these ceramic creations from the Fowler collection, including bowls used for food preparation and serving, incised ceremonial vessels, figurative ceramics and ornaments for the gables of houses.

 

In Papua New Guinea — a nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean that comprises half the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands — both men and women make ceramics, depending on the region, cultural group and techniques involved. In many coastal communities, women specialize in making thin-walled, round-bodied cooking pots, often beating the clay into shape over a stone. In those instances in which designs are applied to the objects after firing, the painting is done by men. No potter's wheels or glazes are used. Quick, low-temperature firing under piles of burning brush transforms the clay into porous earthenware.

 

The Fowler exhibition begins with a selection of beautiful sago porridge bowls made by the Sawos and Plains Boiken peoples of the Middle Sepik River. These coiled creations are dried to a leather-hard stage, then incised with designs said to represent supernatural beings. Visitors next encounter decorated ceremonial bowls created by the Wosera Abelam peoples of the Maprik region, including a popular form that features brightly painted faces with high-relief noses.

 

The exhibition also features regionally traded works, including pot stands made in a figural style by Yaul potters, Iatmul gable ornaments and works that incorporate human and animal figures. The final portion of the exhibition highlights the distinctive and widely recognized work of potters from Aibom, an Iatmul village in the Middle Sepik; several examples of their large hearths and sago storage jars are on display.

 

Today, imported plastic or metal pans and buckets have replaced clay pots in many New Guinea communities, but some potters have thrived by adapting their products to meet the demands of tourist or export markets. The items in this exhibition came to Los Angeles between the 1960s to the 1980s, after collectors outside New Guinea began to take notice of the island's unique ceramic arts.

 

"Fowler in Focus: Ceramics of Papua New Guinea" will be on view in the Fowler in Focus gallery, the central space within "Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives." Fowler in Focus is dedicated to rotating installations of new acquisitions, subcollections and particular artistic genres in the Fowler's permanent holdings.

 

The Fowler Museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m., and Thursdays, from noon to 8 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Fowler, part of UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture, is located in the north part of the UCLA campus. Admission is free. Parking is available for $8 in Lot 4. For more information, the public may call 310-825-4361 or visit www.fowler.ucla.edu.