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Dubhe Carreño Gallery Contemporary Ceramic Art |
Erin Furimsky
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Artist’s Statement
Many decorative arts are overtly useful, yet have delicate decoration that can barely withstand the rigors of daily use. There is a strong relationship in the ceramic arts between luxuriously ornamental wares and objects with specific functions like wig stands, chamber pots, and ceramic pillows. I investigate where these two realms overlap and what happens when the decorative aspect becomes the function.
There is a push and pull between the familiar and unfamiliar in my work. The scale and sense of volume are suggestive of functional forms like vessels, or essential domestic objects such as an iron or a phone. I use familiar patterning like that of wallpaper and fabric in order to make these transformed objects approachable and comfortable. Overlapping and reconfiguring, I reference aspects from historical ceramics too contemporary design. By investigating domestic forms and their role in our culture I extract and reconstruct their elements. I have looked at these objects not only for aesthetic qualities, but also for their symbolic functions in our lives. For example, one person may perceive the delicate lacey edge of the curtain as trivial and unnecessary, while another may experience it as an intimate and an important reinforcement that they live in a refined and loving home.
Meticulously I hand build ceramic forms. Taking advantage of the clay's plasticity, I push the interior walls, expanding and inflating them. I enjoy how pattern works on top of the tight, distended surface. Like fabric stretched to cover an overstuffed armchair, or a corseted waist, the volume is crucial to the sensuality of the surface. In some of the more recent forms this sense of expanding volume and one form gently holding another has been influenced by the experience of pregnancy.
On the surface, a complex layering evolves by working the clay at every stage. Deeply carved patterns in the clay merge with the form and the decoration cannot help but become structure. Carved areas are covered with carefully chosen glazes that may run, enhancing and over taking the carving at the same time. Unrestrained areas play against very precise and constructed sections of pattern and decals.
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