Chance Taylor is a ceramicist and educator who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. He graduated with a BFA (2018) in ceramics from North Dakota State University and received his MFA (2023) from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He recently completed a one-year residency at Access Arts in Columbia, Mo and is currently Ceramics Technician & Artist in Residence at ETSU, Johnson City, TN. Taylor’s work draws upon his fascination with an object’s purpose to facilitate culture and fulfill our psychological and practical needs through everyday use and ritual. His most recent work is influenced by the formal logic of plants and flowers and is intended to celebrate and elevate the every-day.
Taylor has displayed his work across the nation and in publications such as Ceramic Monthly. He has participated in dozens of juried and invitational exhibitions, most recently he was included in the 2024 Strictly Functional Pottery National and The Southern Miss Ceramics National. He has taught studio courses at both the university level and for several non-profit institutions and worked as a studio technician and studio manager at the Plains Art Museum and Access Arts respectively. In addition to his work in the studio, Taylor has worked as a Lecturer, teaching contemporary art history at Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo. Most Recently, he completed his solo show Florescence at the Columbia College Hardwick Gallery, Columbia Mo and moved to Johnson City Tennessee for a residency at ETSU.
My pots are deliberate, highly crafted, and intended for daily use. I draw inspiration from the world around me and have a special affinity for things that grow. I do not seek to replicate natural forms. Rather, I look to the formal logic of plants and flowers, to the feeling and experience of growth, vitality, and beauty. I translate these qualities into something tangible, useful, and nourishing in the form of functional ceramics.
I divide my pots symmetrically, using line as a means of projecting order onto my forms. This evokes the structured, recurring, and purposeful quality of nature. It is a language of symmetry and simplicity. Purposeful ornamentation enhances and highlights areas of connection and elevates the act of use. The handle should feel as though it were made for your hand and the lip should caress your own as though that were its only purpose. The visual language should enhance the sensual experience.
In these ways, my work can elevate and celebrate the everyday. My hope is that my pots can find their home in the rituals and rhythms of daily life. I believe that in this capacity, as a thing that is a part of life, that something as simple as a cup can profoundly impact our perception and awareness of these everyday tasks, imbuing what was once ordinary with new and growing meaning.