Timeless Terrains:
Conversations in Clay and Paint
April 13 - May 19, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday April 13, 4-6pm
Artists' Talk: Saturday April 27, 2pm
Artist Statements
Portrait of Adriana Díaz by Shirley Nakao, Art photo by Kate Cameron
Adriana Díaz
My paintings of the last twenty years or so seem to come from an ancient source. I believe that we humans, like other animals, are created from atomic material recycled from the past. It’s a strange kind of “reincarnation”, the recycling of electrons and neutrons, etc. I have always been aware of the presence of the past within me (in mind and spirit). Because I am Spanish, I have imagined the caves of Altamira as my source or the spring of my spiritual and aesthetic awareness.
That awareness has been the source of the markings and suggestions of ancient languages to be found within the terrain of my work. The surface itself is a somatic language that speaks through a physical, tactile presence.
When I first saw Kathy Kearns ceramic pieces, it seemed like a meeting of souls and materials. Her sculptures, like my paintings, can carry one into an ancient place. Together our work creates a resonance that opens us to the deep silence of humanity.
My paintings of the last twenty years or so seem to come from an ancient source. I believe that we humans, like other animals, are created from atomic material recycled from the past. It’s a strange kind of “reincarnation”, the recycling of electrons and neutrons, etc. I have always been aware of the presence of the past within me (in mind and spirit). Because I am Spanish, I have imagined the caves of Altamira as my source or the spring of my spiritual and aesthetic awareness.
That awareness has been the source of the markings and suggestions of ancient languages to be found within the terrain of my work. The surface itself is a somatic language that speaks through a physical, tactile presence.
When I first saw Kathy Kearns ceramic pieces, it seemed like a meeting of souls and materials. Her sculptures, like my paintings, can carry one into an ancient place. Together our work creates a resonance that opens us to the deep silence of humanity.
Portrait of Kathy Kearns by Jaime Borschuk, Art photo by Ben Pegram
Kathy Kearns
This work is a reflection of my passion for ancient cultures and our human connection with past civilizations. Our emotions, desires, and reactions are unchanged despite the advances in technology and knowledge. My sculptures represent the timeless states of human beings in the same way that ancient myths mirror our past and hold relevance for our current moment.
My sculptures are an extension of my work as a potter, and contain the same figurative elements of pottery such as the belly, shoulder, foot, and lip. Human and animal bodies become vessels and containers of consciousness.
Travels in Greece and my time working at the Mudhouse Art Residency in Crete led to this body of new work. While in Crete I created small figurines with local clay and upon returning to my California studio used them as models for larger scale sculptures. These were fired in a 16 foot long anagama style wood kiln with a crew of artists at Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology in Northern California. Wood firing is a transformational process that involves stoking the kiln with pine and oak for eight days and nights, reaching high temperatures of 2400 degrees F. This laborious process creates surfaces of melted wood ash glaze, flashing marks from the flame and gritty textures from the coal bed. I love the earthy quality and variation of these surfaces that narrate a continuum of time and place.
This work is a reflection of my passion for ancient cultures and our human connection with past civilizations. Our emotions, desires, and reactions are unchanged despite the advances in technology and knowledge. My sculptures represent the timeless states of human beings in the same way that ancient myths mirror our past and hold relevance for our current moment.
My sculptures are an extension of my work as a potter, and contain the same figurative elements of pottery such as the belly, shoulder, foot, and lip. Human and animal bodies become vessels and containers of consciousness.
Travels in Greece and my time working at the Mudhouse Art Residency in Crete led to this body of new work. While in Crete I created small figurines with local clay and upon returning to my California studio used them as models for larger scale sculptures. These were fired in a 16 foot long anagama style wood kiln with a crew of artists at Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology in Northern California. Wood firing is a transformational process that involves stoking the kiln with pine and oak for eight days and nights, reaching high temperatures of 2400 degrees F. This laborious process creates surfaces of melted wood ash glaze, flashing marks from the flame and gritty textures from the coal bed. I love the earthy quality and variation of these surfaces that narrate a continuum of time and place.