Current Exhibition

William DePauw: Only Vessels

Exhibition Dates: March 14 – April 5, 2026

Opening reception: Saturday, March 14, 6-9pm

Gallery Hours Sat. & Sun. 12-5pm

Only Vessels: An exhibition of ceramic vessel forms exploring applied surface image.

I’ve been working with ceramic overglaze decals for some years and recently began using the generative AI function in Photoshop as a tool for developing composite images for this process. The works in this exhibition explore how these absurd images can function as surface treatments for vessel forms.

It’s a known trope that Historically, vessels have carried cultural narrative, decoration, and symbolism. With this work, the surfaces hold images generated from the boundless visual archive of the internet—an environment defined by “unlimited access” and “overwhelming abundance”. The imagery emerges as dreamlike and hallucinatory, built from fragments that feel both familiar and estranged.

I’m interested in pairing these highly subjective, digitally generated composites with minimal carved pattern fragments on the vessel surfaces. The contrast between excess and restraint, illusion and material presence, digital fluidity and ceramic permanence create an engaging tension. The vessel becomes a site where contemporary image culture—its saturation, absurdity, and subconscious logic—is fixed onto a durable, physical form.

Originally from Detroit Michigan, William DePauw’s creative practice largely revolves around intuitive play and the development of abstract form. He has been a member of the Newcomb Art Department faculty since 2006. He is also a founding member of Staple Goods.

 For more information, please contact staplegoodsnola@gmail.com

or 504-723-9020

Connections: Staple Goods 10th Anniversary Exhibition Catalog

Exhibition catalog commemorates the collective’s 10th anniversary exhibition, Connections (May 2021), and is available for $5.

Curated by Laura Richens. Text by Amy Mackie. Book Design by Tiffany Lin. Printed at Paper Machine.

Participating Artists: Minka/Thomasine, Aaron Collier, Robyn Denny, William DePauw, Abe Geasland, Daniel Kelly IV, Kristina Knipe, J Knoblach, Norah Lovell, Kaori Maeyama, Anne Nelson, Jack Niven, Laura Richens, Cynthia Scott, Sadie Sheldon, Lorna Williams