SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY.- The Tang Museum at Skidmore College presents Pursuing Possibilities: Explorations in Glaze, a student-curated exhibition featuring works from the Tang collection that explore the expressive possibilities of ceramic glaze. The exhibition will be on view May 30 through September 12 in the Tang’s Winter Gallery.

Organized by Emily Lin ’26, the 2025–26 Charina Endowment Fund Endowed Intern, Pursuing Possibilities examines how the chemical composition of glazes affects the visual outcome of ceramic works. Presenting a range of glazing effects alongside varied surface textures and firing techniques, the exhibition considers the relationship between scientific experimentation and artistic exploration in ceramics—and how chemistry can help drive an artist’s vision.

Glaze is a mixture of water and powdered chemical compounds, including silica, flux, and alumina. Different metal oxides, used in varying quantities, can produce a wide range of colors and visual effects. Artists may alter glaze compositions to create mottling, lustered surfaces, running streaks, and other results. Yet because the final appearance of a glazed ceramic work cannot be known fully before firing, artists must work with both intention and chance.

“As someone who studies art history, chemistry, and studio art, I was fascinated by the way glaze brings together materials, process, and unpredictability,” Lin said. “Glaze is not just a surface. It is chemistry, risk, patience, and creativity all at once.”

Lin’s research brought together art history, studio practice, and scientific analysis. For the exhibition, she used a non-destructive X-ray fluorescence instrument, known as XRF, to help identify the chemical composition of selected glazes, and consulted with Matt Wilt, Associate Professor of Ceramics and the Robert Davidson Chair in Art at Skidmore College, about firing environments and ceramic processes.

Her research also included an interview with Kathy Butterly about the artist’s process of working with clay and glaze. A work by Butterly is featured in Pursuing Possibilities, while the Tang’s current major exhibition Kathy Butterly: Assume Yessurveys more than three decades of the artist’s radical ceramics. The project reflects Lin’s academic path as a recently graduated art history major with minors in chemistry and studio art, as well as her interest in art conservation.

The exhibition brings together works by Regis Brodie, Rut Bryk, Kathy Butterly, Nicole Cherubini, John Curry, Detone, Mike Helke, Myrton Purkiss, Robert Sedestrom, Frances Simches, and Malcolm Wright. Together, the works invite visitors to look closely at ceramics as sites of experimentation, transformation, and discovery.

“Pursuing Possibilities is a wonderful example of the Tang’s teaching mission in action,” said Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang. “Emily’s exhibition asks visitors to think across art and science, material and process, control and surprise. It also shows how student-curated exhibitions at the Tang can open fresh ways of seeing the collection.”

The exhibition is the capstone project of Lin’s yearlong Tang internship, which provides a Skidmore student with academic and practical experience in museum work while introducing them to post-graduate professional possibilities. Lin graduated from Skidmore on May 16.