Ceramics has a rich and diverse history at Essex Art Center. Clay classes are some of the Center's most popular courses, where students learn how to wheel throw, build forms from slabs, and make figures out of clay. This group exhibition celebrates the power and possibility inherent in ceramics by integrating artists from New England and beyond that explore a variety of clay processes and social concerns in their work. 

Clay’s versatile nature provides an opportunity to question, experiment, and chart new paths forward. Artist and activist Theaster Gates described working in clay as "not really about the material. It's about our capacity to shape things." Similarly, Shaping Things encourages us to consider not only how we transform clay, but how we transform ourselves and the world around us.