Curatorial Statement
Artist’s Reception: Friday, July 1, 2016 from 5-7pm MT
Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, July 4 by 10am Mountain Time
Almost one year ago, Joyce St. Clair and Lars Voltz joined second year residents Summer Carmack, Kirk Jackson, and Jocelyn Howard as the 2015-16 Long Term Residents at the Red Lodge Clay Center. It has been an exciting and productive year at the Fox Studios and the Long-Term Resident Exhibition 2016 presents the culmination of their hard work and research into their studio practice. Each resident has a unique and individual approach to the ceramic medium. We are proud to showcase their artworks in the Loft Gallery exhibition this month.
“I use the figure in my work as a vehicle for narratives that involve themes of sexuality, gender identity, religion, adulthood, and play, and I utilize fairy tale whimsy in order to reveal a deeper, sometimes darker struggle.”
-Jocelyn Howard
“As a maker, I revel in the collections of objects and possessions people choose to surround themselves with and the rituals and intimate experiences that are generated by those articles.”
-Kirk Jackson
“My ideas of robustness and femininity are pushed and pulled in the surfaces and decorations of stout voluminous forms. Embedded and sprigged ornamental gestures emerge and converge with regulated thrown lines to create undulating, chunky curves.”
-Joyce St. Clair
“Viewing the ceramic vessel as a crucial synergy between the material world and our cultural existence, conversations between mass and dynamism, exterior marks transitioned into evident, responsive interiors and raw clay exposed to a wood-fired atmosphere develops awareness to connections with potent material forces.”
-Lars Voltz
“Using wheel thrown and hand built porcelain, I attempt to seduce the viewer with graceful lines in form and clean, solid craftsmanship. Attention to detail and fluid movement throughout each piece is meant to enchant the viewer with nostalgia for childhood and dress-up.”
-Summer Carmack