Mercer Gallery to Host Ceramic Works Exhibition by Bill Asmussen
[Garden City, KS] November 3, 2025 -- The Mercer Gallery at Garden City Community College is pleased to present 65 on 83 – Clay Travels, an exhibition of functional and sculptural ceramic works by Kansas-based artist Bill Asmussen. The exhibition will be on view from November 7 through December 5, 2025, with a public reception on Wednesday, November 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
Asmussen’s ceramics reflect both a mastery of craft and an adventurous studio practice. His work is inspired by the literal and metaphorical journey of making—an ongoing process of discovery, refinement, and challenge. Crafted between studios at Seward County Community College and Garden City Community College, the pieces in this exhibition embody the miles traveled along Highway 83 in pursuit of creativity.
The Mercer Gallery is located within the Pauline Joyce Fine Arts Building at Garden City Community College. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For additional information, please contact Gallery Director Michael Knutson at michael.knutson@gcccks.edu.
Artist Statement
Working with clay is a journey. Whether it begins as a repetitive commute to perfect form and technique or as an open-ended excursion to explore new ideas, each piece becomes a new destination. Successes are memorable; challenges are inevitable. Cracked windows and flat tires sometimes result in route; pieces crack and glazes flop before finally crafting stunning work.
After years of developing ceramic work at Seward County Community College, I sought a fresh source of inspiration—something to spark new creative directions. I enrolled in a summer ceramics course at Garden City Community College, and while the experience was creatively invigorating, the 65-mile drive each way soon demanded a new rhythm. Alternating between two studios, I often found myself creating in one location and firing in the other, navigating Highway 83 alongside the treacherous flow of semi-trucks. Every work in this exhibition represents those journeys—both the road traveled and the evolution of the craft.
Artist Biography
Ceramics first captured Bill Asmussen’s interest in grade school, when an observant art teacher encouraged him to move beyond sun-baked mudpies and into kiln-fired clay. After several years away from the medium, a college elective reignited his passion—and it quickly became a lasting pursuit. Asmussen teaches adult education at Seward County Community College, where the creative process continues to offer a welcome counterbalance to lesson planning. He lives and works in southwest Kansas, always eager for the next idea and the next piece of clay to shape, along with the occasional beer.
--
Garden City Community College exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.