Ken Ferguson (1928 - 2004) is considered to be one of the most influential educators in ceramic arts. Ferguson retired as Professor Emeritus from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1996 after 32 years of educating and mentoring young students. He transformed the Institute into a center for ceramic art and gave flight to a diverse generation of artists. Ferguson’s dedication to his students as well as his own practice served as an inspiration and model to students and admirers alike. “Many times I tell students that you have to commit yourselves to something you really like and have enough nerve to stand behind it. There is no need to pretend anything.”

In addition to an active exhibition career, in 1995 his work was surveyed in exhibitions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Art, both in Kansas City, Missouri. Ken Ferguson received the College Art Association’s Distinguished Teaching of Art award in 1997 and the American Craft Council’s Gold Medal in 1998.

This exhibition features work from several of Ferguson's studio assistants, including Darcy Badiali, Ben Bates, Jeremy Briddell, Guy Michael Davis + Katie Parker, Michael Fujita, Steve Godfrey, Nathan Mabry, Nobu Nishigawara.