CHARLOTTE, N.C. − The Mint Museum of Craft + Design will open its spring season with two important exhibitions: From the Melting Pot into the Fire: Contemporary Ceramics in Israel (February 14 – June 21, 2009) and The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf  (February 21 – May 17, 2009). Shows open within one week of each other in February.Born in 1949, Metcalf has long been revered as a leading art jeweler, curator, essayist and critic of contemporary craft. Most recently, he co-authored "Makers: 20^th Century American Studio Craft", to be published by the University of North Carolina Press in late spring 2009.

The exhibition 'From the Melting Pot into the Fire' includes the work of some of the most acclaimed ceramic artists working in Israeli today. Ranging from the satirical to the sublime, 38 examples of ceramic sculpture address issues of identity within an immigrant society. Themes such as borders and boundaries will resonate with an American audience. Notably, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design will be the only United States venue for this special offering.

As a historical crossroads and a relatively new nation comprised of immigrants, Israel has forged a unique identity. Artists represented in the exhibition explore their personal identities, as well as connections to their homeland through their work in clay. Public education programs will use the exhibition as a catalyst to explore this unique Israeli sense of place as it is manifested in contemporary art, film, architecture and literature.

The engaging and spirited work of prominent art jeweler Bruce Metcalf will be on view in the exhibition 'The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf'. This first major exhibition of the artist’s work examines social, moral and political issues in relation to Metcalf’s interests in architecture, comics and the narrative voice. In this show, small size matters. Cast in silver or carved in wood, Metcalf’s tiny characters act out issues on the stage of miniature worlds. Most of his pieces serve dual purposes as both sculpture and wearable brooches in which the characters “venture” out into the world and engage the unsuspecting viewer with their stories.

'The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf'  features 76 pieces by the artist, dating from the 1970s to 2001. Taking center stage are Metcalf’s emotional characters, distinguished by their distorted bodies that manifest inflicted pain from human nature’s “dark side.” Big-headed with atrophied limbs, all of Metcalf’s figures are born from cartoon traditions, yet appear strangely credible as they address the artist’s overarching themes of the human condition and issues of dissent.

'From the Melting Pot into the Fire: Contemporary Ceramics in Israel' is organized by The Ceramic Artists Association of Israel. The exhibition is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Israel, the Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts, and The Founders’ Circle Ltd., the national support affiliate of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design.

'The Miniature Worlds of Bruce Metcalf' was curated by Signe Mayfield and organized by Palo Alto Art Center, Division of Arts and Sciences, City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California, and has been made possible through the support of the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation; Rotasa Foundation; Windgate Charitable Foundation; the Arts Council Silicon Valley; and private contributions. The exhibition is sponsored by The Founders’ Circle Ltd., the national support affiliate of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design.

The Mint Museum is one institution with two dynamic locations. Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, the Mint Museum of Art houses collections of art of the ancient Americas, American art, contemporary art, historic costume, and a ceramics collection well-known for works from North Carolina. Opened in 1999, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design displays national and international contemporary crafts made of ceramics, metal, wood, glass and fiber. 

For a schedule of programs surrounding these exhibitions, visit www.mintmuseum.org.