At the Table with Rebecca Sive, part of the IMoDD Unforgettable Dinnerware Zoom lecture series
“At the Table with Rebecca Sive brings together voices across the field to honor the life and legacy of Rebecca Sive—collector, feminist activist, and one of the most committed champions of women’s ceramic art in the United States. Sive’s impact extended far beyond the ceramic community: she was a nationally recognized advocate for women’s rights, a founder of major feminist organizations, and an advisor to civic and political leaders whose work shaped public policy for decades.
The panel will explore how this broader career in activism and public leadership informed her approach to collecting, mentoring, and institution-building within the field of ceramics. Among her many close relationships was her decades-long dedication to the work of Linda Sikora, which she documented in the 2018 catalog ‘I want to see Linda Sikora wherever I go,” contributing to the placement of three Sikora works as promised gifts to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This story is only one example of Sive’s larger, sustained commitment to recognizing, recording, and institutionalizing women’s contributions to contemporary ceramics. Together, the panelists reflect on the many ways Sive’s vision, generosity, and advocacy continue to shape the field today.”
Presented by Adrienne Spinozzi, Linda Sikora, Leslie Ferrin, with moderator Carolyn Herrera-Perez
Adrienne Spinozzi is an Associate Curator in the American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she is responsible for the American redware, stoneware, and art pottery collections. Her recent projects include Shapes from Out of Nowhere: Ceramics from the Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection (2021), an exhibition of 20th– and 21st– century abstract and nonrepresentational ceramics, and Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina (2022-24), an exhibition on the contributions of the enslaved potters—both known and unknown—in western South Carolina during the 19th century. She is currently working on a reinstallation of American ceramics that will span the late 19th century through today.
Linda Sikora resides near Alfred, New York where she has her studio practice and is a Professor of Ceramic Art at Alfred University. Sikora studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (BFA) and the University of Minnesota–Minneapolis (MFA). Professional activities are national and international. Residencies include: Archie Bray Foundation; Chunkang College of Cultural Industry, Korea; Tainan National College of The Arts, Taiwan; Clay Edge, Australia. Collections include: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia; Racine Art Museum; Alfred Ceramic Art Museum; LA County Museum of Art; Minneapolis Institute of the Arts; Everson Museum; Huntington Museum of Art; Fuller Craft Museum; National Museum of Sweden. Sikora is a United States Artist 2020 Fellowship recipient.
Leslie Ferrin is a leading specialist in contemporary ceramic art, recognized for her longstanding commitment to supporting artists and advancing scholarship. A gallerist since 1979, she has championed ceramic artists through exhibitions, publications, and institutional partnerships. She directs Ferrin Contemporary and authored Teapots Transformed: Exploration of an Object (2000), a landmark study examining the teapot as a site of artistic innovation.
Carolyn E. Herrera-Perez is an independent writer, maker, and curator. Previously, Carolyn served as the inaugural Curator of Glass and Ceramics at the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Contributing Editor of the Chipstone Foundation publication Material Intelligence; and Curatorial Fellow at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Aloevera Herrera 