Critique Sessions with Visiting Artists

Registrants for the 2026 Alabama Clay Conference are invited to sign up for a one-on-one, 15-minute critique session with our Visiting Artists, Allen Chen and Vincent Frimpong.

These focused sessions will give you direct, professional feedback on a single piece or a portion of your portfolio - shared in person or digitally (flash drive or laptop).

Critiques are open to artists at any stage, including those preparing graduate school or residency applications, refining work for a BFA exhibition, or anyone seeking thoughtful guidance to help move their practice forward.

Each session is designed to offer clear, actionable insight you can immediately apply to your work.

Sessions will take place February 20 and 21 at the Embassy. Registrants may sign up for one 15-minute session with each artist, subject to availability. We encourage you to sign up early to secure your preferred time.

Click the button below to reserve your time slot.

Allen Chen

Sculptor and educator Allen Chen explores the dynamic relationship between vessel and content—how each transforms the other. Through suspended ceramic forms that invite movement and reflection, his work examines texture, form, and environment as intertwined expressions of meaning and metaphor.

A Taiwanese-born artist and Associate Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, Allen’s work explores the relationship between vessels and their contents—how form, surface, and environment shape meaning. His teaching emphasizes sound craftsmanship, empathy, and curiosity—encouraging students to connect nature, culture, and creativity through clay.

@allenchenclay

vincent frimpong

Born in Accra, Ghana, Vincent Frimpong is a contemporary ceramic artist whose work weaves together history, identity, and cultural memory. With an M.F.A. from the University of Arkansas and a B.A. from KNUST in Ghana, Vincent’s practice blends ceramics and mixed media to explore what it means to be African - past, present, and future.

His powerful installations have been featured in multiple exhibitions, including solo shows at the COOP Gallery (TN), Shricliff Gallery of Art (IN), and Millsaps College (MS).

Vincent is the 2025 NCECA Emerging Artist Fellow, and his work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Windgate Accelerator Grant, Artists 360 Grant, Zenobia Award, Maxwell-Hanrahan Haystack Fellowship, and Archie Bray Amaco Fellowship.

@sniper_ceramica