Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (ASPN) 2017
Rosemary Howell is one of our 2017 ASPN – Advanced Student Project Network residents. The ASPN program was established to offer exceptionally talented students enrolled in undergraduate programs an opportunity to come work at the Clay Center with a group of dedicated peers in order to expand and invest in their studio practice. Rosemary comes to us from University of Ohio in Athens, OH.
Through objects and installation, I explore themes of sexuality, intimacy, attraction, repulsion, voyeurism and exhibitionism as they relate to the body. I engage my audience through physical and tactile components that induce a sense of desire and reveal feelings of discomfort. Working against the acceptable boundaries of expressions of intimacy as defined by our sex-negative culture, I seek to create environments that exaggerate sensuality, allowing for these definitions to be questioned and challenged.
My amorphous ceramic objects suggest a method of interaction with the surrounding installation. Made from the absence of a person these forms invite the viewer to fill the void, creating an intimate connection between person and object. These forms are often combined with furniture to promote a comfortable, domestic and in some cases, sensual ambiance, which allows the viewer to consider the physical and tactile nature of the material. My intention is to promote transparency and comfort in conversations about sexuality and the human condition as well as acceptance of hidden or not-so-hidden desires.