CONCORD, MASS.- Lacoste Gallery presents its second solo exhibition of works by local ceramic artist Ronnie Gould. Gould is known for her unmatched talent at bringing animals to life in clay. Her sculptures are soulful, reflecting her passion for animals and the intuitive process by which she sculpts, enabling, a she says, a “conversation between my hands and the clay…where each sculpture takes on a life of its own.” To create lifelike creatures with personality, she relies on visual information about each animal, their unique movements, body gestures, and expressions. All Dogs, on view from May 31 to June 30, explores the artist’s evolving relationship with that perennial man’s best friend.

Gould grew up with dogs, and today lives with two rescue dogs that are constantly at her side. They are her muses for this show, in which she focuses exclusively on canine companions. All Dogs includes Spaniels, Bull Terriers and Fox Terriers, Mini Pinschers, Shepherds, Corgis and West Highland White Terriers, Greyhounds and Golden Retrievers, French and English Bulldogs, Beagles and Boston Terriers, and others. Several of the sculptures are of dogs from the artist’s life. The Fox Terrier was Gould’s first dog, a childhood companion who would bolt out the front door with young Ronnie in pursuit. The Westie is the dog Gould later adopted as a pup when her own children were very young. All of the work in All Dogs is about relationships like these. As Gould puts it, “It is an attempt to relay the essence of that love that is passed from dog to owner and owner to dog.”

Gould’s techniques vary, but each sculpture is hand-built from stoneware. Some are coated with a porcelain slip to produce a brilliant white surface. They are dried and bisque-fired to harden the clay before Gould applies the final glazing. Her sculptures are then fired a second time using raku, saggar, or smoke. Each creature emerges through its own unique process, guided by Gould’s interaction with its face and gesture as she sculpts.

Ronnie Gould exhibits internationally, and has shown at deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park; the New Hampshire Institute of Art; Fuller Craft Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Concord Art Association; and the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society. She has exhibited at SOFA Chicago and Art Toronto 2013.

“Though abstract,” notes director Lucy Lacoste, “Ronnie’s work captures the essence of each dog and a transcendent quality that makes for contemporary sculpture.”