Three ceramic* pieces to enjoy
*ceramics that include weaving and textile work
Today is a local holiday in Colombia so this is a short newsletter. I love making things with my hands. In 2023, and after years of considering starting doing it, I started a weekly practice of ceramics in a local workshop near my house. Over multiple iterations of the same topic (volumetric architectural explorations a.k.a. houses), I’ve seen my understanding of the material change and expand, as well as my admiration for artists that develop their whole practice in the medium of ceramics. Today I’m sharing three of my favorite artists and three pieces that I love.
1 — Simone Leigh.
Simone Leigh is an american artist that lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Her practice involves ceramics and bronze sculptures, video and installation. This piece I love because it is massive plus the embroidered braids require a real mastery over the material. A piece this big requieres that you involve your whole body on the process, and I find that beautiful and inspiring. Besides the impressive size and skill, her work is inspired by vernacular objects and african art, which as you may know already, are huge inspirations for me too. Check some of her other pieces here and here.
2 — Anina Major
Anina Major is a visual artist from Bahamas, in an interview, she defines herself as a storyteller / artist / antropologist / historian that loves objects and is above all an object maker. And you can see it all in her practice and I can see parts of myself in that statement as well. Textile and ceramic objects are some of the objects humans have been making since forever. The fact that she blends the two is mindblowing to me, not only because I understand the material dificulties of both weaving and ceramics, but also because of the scale of her work. You can see her here sitting by the side of Sandcastle. Some more of her ceramic woven work below because I can’t get enough of it.
3 — Taylor Kibby
Taylor Kibby is an american artist based in LA. Her work is based on making these elaborated chain links made out of clay that then become this impressive modular moving sculpture that is also very delicate. There are multiple interesting and elegant contrasts in her work: strong and delicate, massive and small, mobile and static. Besides this, in my own practice I’ve seen the power of repetitive shapes and multiple iterations and that’s the main topic I see here: individual small units that compound to create something bigger and different. Very philosophical a well. Making chains is also weaving, and the creation of this fabric-like clay structures is impressive, turning a sturdy material into a pliable one will never cease to amaze me. Here’s her website if you’re interested in more.
As always, if you know of any ceramics artist (in general) that I may enjoy, leave me a comment. Thanks for reading and until next week!