Sampler Jug (after Stubbs), No. 8, from the series Cumbrian Blue(s), New American Scenery, 2022, Paul Scott (British, b. 1953), transfer-printed collage on pearlware jug with "Defend The Sacred" by Ryan Vizzions, Courtesy of Paul Scott and Ferrin Contemporary,
© 2022 Paul Scott, photo credit: John Polak
October 10, 2025–January 4, 2026
Vance Waddell and Mayerson Galleries (Galleries 124 and 125)
Free. Exhibition does not require separate tickets.
At first glance, artist Paul Scott’s transfer-printed tableware may look familiar—like something you have seen in your grandparents’ china cabinet or a second-hand shop. Look closer and you will notice subtle differences that add up to a powerful narrative shift. Scott (British, b. 1953) subverts this seemingly unassuming blue-and-white “cultural wallpaper” to create sharp, thought-provoking social commentary. Working with new ceramic forms or repurposing antique pieces, Scott breaks, reassembles, erases, and adds details using screenprinting, engraving, and collage processes to create new “historical” patterns. Broadly, his works address updated narratives about art, history and American experiences.
Based in the northwest English county of Cumbria, Scott is an artist, author, curator and educator who is best known for his unique ability to employ extensive historical and technical knowledge of ceramics to create provocative artworks and social commentary. During a visit to Ohio State University in 1999, Scott became inspired by historical British-made blue-and-white ceramic transferwares that depicted American scenes, directly engaging American consumers. After his visit, Scott challenged himself to create his own versions that recontextualize the messages embedded within these historical works by focusing on contemporary imagery and subjects. Scott’s New American Scenery series reflects his personal experiences of being and traveling in America, and, in his words, the need to “rebalance the narrative with something more contemporary and inclusive.”
Scott shares: “Industrial transferwares were part of the new media revolution in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They have always carried images and patterns which have journeyed through media, time, histories and geographies, capturing and changing meanings as they have travelled. Cumbrian Blue(s) contemporary artworks reference these original wares, so I very much enjoy opportunities which allow me to juxtapose my 21st century iterations alongside the historic in visual dialogues that act to re-animate (sometimes forgotten) objects from museum stores. For Recall. Reframe. Respond., I am excited to extend this process to include paintings, prints, photographs and other artworks from Cincinnati Art Museum’s extensive collections, creating new ‘conversations’ and reanimations.”
In addition to the Ryan Vizzions' images used on the transfer-printed tableware, The Cincinatti Museum of Art is exhibiting a print of "Defend The Sacred" by Ryan Vizzions.
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