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      Waves of Engraved Lines Texture the Emotional Figures Sculpted by En Iwamura

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      Art
      #ceramics
      #clay
      #emotions
      #sculptureDecember 17, 2021Grace EbertAll images © En Iwamura, courtesy of Ross + Kramer Gallery, shared with permissionFrom hunks of clay, artist En Iwamura (previously) sculpts minimal forms with wildly varied facial expressions that range from shock and surprise to moody contemplation. Etched across the surface of each character are neat pathways of parallel lines, which evoke the clean, sweeping patterns in zen gardens, that are a physical manifestation of the Japanese concept of Ma. The philosophy identifies “the space between the edges, between the beginning and the end, the space and time in which we experience life. Ma is filled with nothing but energy and feeling.”Although his aesthetic and process remain relatively consistent—Iwarmura is generous about sharing works-in-progress and studio shots on his Instagram—his approach to spatial questions continues to evolve. “My work size has physically got bigger,” he tells Colossal. “That can have (a) different relationship with Ma, either micro (or) macro.”Iwamura is currently living in Shiga near his hometown of Kyoto, and if you’re in New York, you can see his oversized faces in January at Ross + Kramer Gallery.
      #ceramics
      #clay
      #emotions
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      Hyperrealistic Ceramic Sculptures by Christopher David White Mimic the Splintered Texture of Decaying Wood

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      Art
      #ceramics
      #hyperrealism
      #sculpture
      #trompe l’oeil
      #woodDecember 16, 2021Grace Ebert“Carbon Footprint.” All images © Christopher David White, shared with permissionIn his Richmond studio, artist Christopher David White (previously) practices an alchemy of materials as he transforms slabs of clay into deceptive sculptures and functional objects that appear carved from hunks of decaying wood. His trompe l’oeil ceramics are fragile depictions of the hardy material, complete with its gnarled knots and splintered edges in various states of decomposition.To achieve such a hyperrealistic finish, each piece undergoes multiple rounds of detailing—head to Instagram for a glimpse behind-the-scenes—which White starts by shaping the initial form with knots and branches and imprinting large grooves for the grain. After the work dries slightly, dental instruments, wire brushes, and Xacto knives aid in crafting the more intricate components, and the slightly dehydrated material lends itself to natural cracks and divots that enhance the woody texture. Once fired, the artist paints each sculpture with a largely neutral palette of acrylics.White continues to explore humans’ relationship to the environment in both his figures and smaller works, although he’s recently shifted to more overt considerations of the topic. “I seek to highlight humanity’s abuse and disregard for nature along with the contradictions in our actions,” he says. “Humans have a tendency to acknowledge the beauty, fragility, and uniqueness of nature while simultaneously viewing it as a resource to be endlessly exploited, controlled, and discarded.”Shop prints in White’s shop, and keep an eye on his Instagram and site for updates on new batches of mugs, planters, and other works.“Paint It Red”“Pushing Up Daisies”“Weathered Heart”“Not 2B”“Coral mug”“Small planters”“Teapot set”
      #ceramics
      #hyperrealism
      #sculpture
      #trompe l’oeil
      #woodDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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      Foliage Sprouts from Four Imaginative Clay Illustrations by Irma Gruenholz

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      Art
      Illustration
      #ceramics
      #leaves
      #nature
      #sculptureDecember 15, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Irma Gruenholz, shared with permissionIt’s easy to mistake Irma Gruenholz’s whimsical ceramic figures for two-dimensional illustrations. The Madrid-based artist (previously) is known for her sculptures and still lifes in clay that resemble flat graphics and drawings, although her works require precise positioning and photographing before they’re printed in the pages of a magazine or children’s book.In addition to working on commissions for major publications and brands in the last few years, Gruenholz’s most recent projects include four imaginative figures tattooed with foliage and sprouting leafy branches from their heads. “During Covid lockdown, I have had time to reflect and realize how important it is to respect your internal rhythm when you are creating,” she says. “I think there has to be another way of living, a slow life good for the people and for the planet.”Head to Behance and Instagram for glimpses into the process behind these fantastical figures and to explore a larger archive of the artist’s illustrative work.
      #ceramics
      #leaves
      #nature
      #sculptureDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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      Concentric Vessels Nest Within Larger Forms in Matthew Chambers’ Perplexing Ceramic Sculptures

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      Art
      #abstract
      #ceramics
      #sculpturesDecember 14, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Matthew Chambers, shared with permissionAt once minimal and endlessly confounding, the elegant ceramic vessels that Matthew Chambers (previously) creates are precisely scaled iterations of the same shape. His hypnotic sculptures are comprised of individual, wheel-thrown pieces in varying sizes that are embedded within a larger form. Each abstract work is unique in color and position, sometimes displaying single monochromatic rings at incongruent angles or striped colors flush in alignment.In a note to Colossal, Chambers says his most recent pieces are an experiment in allowing the inner pattern to pop from the outer vessel. “The process is essentially the reverse of how most of my other forms are made, and it’s still very much in the early stages of working it out,” he says. “I’ve also started making some upright vessel forms where the circles twist around the outside of the form from top to bottom, but again these are still very much in the early stages.”Chambers, who’s based in St. Lawrence on the Isle of Wight, has amassed an extensive archive in the last few years, which you can dive into on his site and Instagram. If you’re in London., you can see some of his pieces on view now at Alveston Fine Art and this February with Cavaliero Finn at Collect Art Fair. He’ll also show works this coming July at Cornwall’s New Craftsman Gallery.
      #abstract
      #ceramics
      #sculpturesDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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      Vintage Fabrics Encase Ceramic Shards in Zoë Hillyard’s Mended Pottery

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      Art
      Craft
      #ceramics
      #found objects
      #pottery
      #silk
      #textilesDecember 2, 2021Grace Ebert“Spring Vase” (2017), silk, linen, ceramic, and thread, 28 x 17 centimeters. All images © Zoë Hillyard, shared with permissionBirmingham, U.K.-based artist Zoë Hillyard revitalizes shattered vases and bowls by melding traditional craft techniques. She wraps a mishmash of vintage silks and fabrics around individual ceramic shards, binding the broken pieces with tightly stitched thread. Appearing glazed with antique florals and other ornate motifs, the patchwork forms contrast the original shape of the pottery with the newly mended exterior, a reconfigured finish that’s commonly disrupted by missing pieces and jagged edges.Gathering the source materials from ceramicists’ reject piles or by receiving broken family heirlooms for commissions, Hillyard works with the initial shape and purpose in mind. She says:Like archaeological treasures, they display imperfections in the form of holes and irregularity, and all the more interesting for them. Each piece is unique in terms of the combinations of materials used, the pattern of breakage, the impact of colour and print and aesthetic decisions made during reconstruction.Hillyard’s body of work is replete with metaphorical and physical tension and contrast between the old and new. Although the pieces appear delicate and light like the fabrics that envelop their sides, they retain the heftiness and weight of clay and are warmer to the touch than a porcelain vessel, for example. “Most surprisingly, they often have a subtle flex, disconcerting when contrasted with traditional ‘solid’ forms of ceramic repair,” the artist shares. “I enjoy these ambiguities, with the work challenging expectations and conventional definitions.”In addition to her practice, Hillyard teaches textile design at Birmingham City University. She currently has pieces at Contemporary Applied Arts in London and will show new works in June 2022 at The Pool House Gallery in Gloucestershire. Until then, explore more of her process and mended projects on Instagram. (via Women’s Art)“Shard Vase” (2016), silk, ceramic, and thread, 35 x 25 centimetersDetail of “Spring Vase” (2017), silk, linen, ceramic, and thread, 28 x 17 centimeters“Gestalt Vase” (2019), silk, ceramic, and thread“White Patch Vase” (2017), silk, ceramic, and thread, 35 x 21centimeters“Birdseye Vase” (2016), silk, ceramic, and thread, 45 x 27 centimeters“Katharina Klug Kimono Bowl” (2017), 14.5 x 27 centimeters“Stormy Vase” (2017), silk, ceramic, and thread, 25 x 20 centimeters
      #ceramics
      #found objects
      #pottery
      #silk
      #textilesDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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      Meticulous Sculptures by Artist Carol Long Highlight the Curved Lines and Colorful Embellishments Found in Nature

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      Art
      Craft
      #animals
      #ceramics
      #insects
      #plants
      #potteryNovember 30, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Carol Long, shared with permissionHonoring the humble shape of the vessel is at the center of Carol Long’s practice. From her studio in rural Kansas, the artist throws simple ceramic cylinders that she contorts into supple butterfly wings,  curved chrysalises, or vases with embellished handles.“When it comes off the potter’s wheel, that’s just the beginning,” she tells Colossal. “I usually sit for a second and look at the piece and see which way I can push it out or in.”The resulting forms are evocative of both flora and fauna and traditional pottery, although Long’s sculptures emphasize smooth, sinuous walls and squiggly bases rather than angled edges. She uses slip trailing to add tactile decorative elements to the piece like small spheres, handles, or raised linework. “The relationship between the glazes that are inside the vectors, the shapes made by the slip trailing, are really important in how they’re divided and how they sit next to each other,” she says, noting that the process is particularly meticulous because it involves applying the material to each intricate, ribbed pattern and delicate outline.Whether a vase or wide-mouthed jar, the whimsical sculptures are brimming with color and textured details. “I love the flowing lines, and I love the idea of framing a picture on my pots. A lot of times I have a focal point like an animal or insect and then I’ve framed it with other designs,” the artist says.Long is hosting an annual open house at her studio next month and will show a body of work at Charlie Cummings Gallery in July of 2022. Until then, shop available pieces on Etsy—she also has an update slated for mid-December—and follow her latest pieces on Instagram. (via Women’s Art)
      #animals
      #ceramics
      #insects
      #plants
      #potteryDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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      Hundreds of Ceramic Marine Creatures Radiate in Gradients to Show the Effects of Coral Bleaching

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      Art

      #ceramics
      #climate crisis
      #coral
      #installation
      #porcelain
      #sculpture

      October 26, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Detail of “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters. All images © Courtney Mattison, shared with permission
      Two new site-specific pieces by Courtney Mattison (previously) position ceramic sculptures of corals, sponges, and anemones in a swirling cluster of ocean diversity. Titled “Revolve” and “Our Changing Seas VII,” the wall reliefs are the latest additions to the Los Angeles-based artist’s body of work, which advocates for ecological preservation by highlighting the beauty and fragile nature of marine invertebrates.
      In both installations, Mattison contrasts the vibrant, plump tentacles of healthy creatures with others sculpted in white porcelain to convey the devastating effects of the climate crisis, including widespread bleaching. Her recurring subject matter is becoming increasingly urgent, considering recent reports that estimate that 14 percent of the world’s coral population has been lost in the last decade alone.
      Each of the lifeforms is hand-built and pocked with minuscule grooves and textured elements—she shares this meticulous process on Instagram—and once complete, the individual sculptures are assembled in sweeping compositions that radiate outward in shifting gradients. “Water connects us all, from the lush banks of Lawsons Fork Creek to the icy glaciers of the Arctic and glittering reefs of Southeast Asia. Life on Earth is dependent on healthy oceans,” she shares about “Revolve.” “The swirling design of this work is inspired by these connections and patterns, with revolving forms repeated in nature through hurricanes, seashells, ocean waves, and galaxies.”
      Mattison’s solo exhibition Turn the Tide is on view at Highfield Hall & Gardens in Massachusetts through October 31 before it travels to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, where it will be through May 1, 2022. You explore a larger archive of the artist’s marine works on Behance and her site.

      Detail of “Our Changing Seas VII” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 213 x 350 x 40 centimeters
      Detail of “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters
      “Our Changing Seas VII” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 213 x 350 x 40 centimeters
      Detail of “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters
      Detail of “Our Changing Seas VII” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 213 x 350 x 40 centimeters
      “Revolve” (2021), glazed stoneware and porcelain, 168 x 335 x 35 centimeters

      #ceramics
      #climate crisis
      #coral
      #installation
      #porcelain
      #sculpture

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      From Canine Ceramics to Abstract Constructions, a Group Show Opens Hashimoto Contemporary’s Los Angeles Space

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      Art

      #ceramics
      #painting
      #sculpture

      October 1, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Laura Berger, “I Remember the Smell of the Sage” (2021), oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches. All images courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission
      Ranging from Dan Lam’s drippy, neon blobs (previously) to the minimal, bodily paintings of Laura Berger (previously), an inaugural exhibition at Hashimoto Contemporary highlights a diverse array of pieces from two dozen artists working today. The group show launches the gallery’s new space in Culver City and situates Katie Kimmel’s animated ceramic pups (previously) alongside Augustine Kofie’s geometric abstractions and the graffitied scenes by Jessica Hess. If you’re in Los Angeles, you can see the works in person through October 2—keep an eye on Hashimoto’s site for upcoming exhibitions at the new location—and find some of our favorites below.

      Front left: Dan Lam, “No Man Could Resist” (2021), resin, acrylic, adhesive on polyurethane foam, 23 x 21 1/2 x 17 inches. Back center: Dan Lam, “She’s So Heavy” (2021), resin, acrylic, adhesive on polyurethane foam, 18 x 32 x 30 1/2 inches. Front right: Dan Lam, “Pillar of Strength” (2021), resin, acrylic, adhesive on polyurethane foam, 32 1/2 x 29 1/2 x 27 inches
      Left: Stacey Rozich, “” (2021), watercolor and gouache on paper, framed, 22 x 17 1/2 inches. Right: Jeffrey Cheung, “Tangle II” (2019), acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 inches
      Katie Kimmel, “Bulldog Planter” (2021), ceramic, 20 x 22 x 20 inches
      Jessica Hess, “Break Free Redux” (2021), oil and acrylic on canvas, 65 x 73 inches
      Katie Kimmel, “Bulldog Vase” (2021), ceramic, 8 x 8 x 5 1/2 inches
      Dan Lam, “She’s So Heavy” (2021), resin, acrylic, adhesive on polyurethane foam, 18 x 32 x 30 1/2 inches
      Augustine Kofie, “Disfigure of Speech” (2021), acrylic polymer on duck canvas, strip framed by artist, 48 x 51 inches

      #ceramics
      #painting
      #sculpture

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