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Dubhe Carreño Gallery Contemporary Ceramic Art |
Tyler Lotz
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Artist’s Statement
I create ceramic sculpture informed by the human inclination to imitate, interpret and manipulate aspects of the physical universe. I am inspired by the “architecture of nature” and its inventive aptitude for survival and perpetuation. My vocabulary of form and surface is derived from abstract manifestations of nature present in our architecture, textiles, and everyday design. The resulting mold-made conglomerations, with their plastic-like acrylic surfaces, speak of the intersection of our artificial and natural worlds.
Nature, the ultimate architect, has perfected strategies for building stronger, lighter structures, securing survival in an ecology that is simultaneously cutthroat and delicate. Simple, robust and resilient curves comprise a flower's form, lending durability to what is otherwise the frailest of stock. Layers upon layers of pulp, a composite of cellulose fibers, wrap concentrically along the length of trees providing flexibility rivaling the most fervent of gusts. There is safety in numbers, as every blade of grass on an open plain contributes to the survival of its neighbor and of the whole. This consummate marriage of physics and aesthetics provides the basis for the structure and energy of my ceramic vessels and sculptures.
On a daily basis I am affected by interpretations and manipulations of nature from the world around me. There are beautifully abstract representations of nature in everyday adornment, like the silhouette of a berry or leaf pattern from a piece of textile or magazine layout. Also, there is the strange hyperrealism of never wilting, plastic calla lilies, made to appear as “fresh cut”. And then there are bizarre hybrids of the natural and artificial, like the apples injected with artificial grape flavoring, or the faux-fresh, dyed red fillets of farm raised salmon.
The casting process I employ produces certain formal characteristics while referencing the industrially shaped, mass-produced and commercially available objects of our society. I use ceramics primarily for its material properties and technical possibilities as well as for its historical significance. The poured acrylic surface softens and plasticizes the hardened clay, and alludes to the flattened color and chemical make-up of contemporary designer objects produced for our homes.
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