Stephanie H. Shih’s ceramic sculptures reflect on her upbringing as a first-generation Asian-American through “the lens of the Asian-American pantry.” The output ranges from hundreds and hundreds of porcelain dumplings to certain imported sauces and oils. With her work, she’s also raised funds for communities across the U.S., from displaces indigenous tribes to hurricane victims.
“For firstgeneration Asian Americans, the finite collection of imported grocery brands from our youth has become shorthand for parallel childhoods raised by immigrant parents,” she says. “To meet strangers who have memories of eating the same can of fried dace——a small fish preserved with salted black beans——is to discover a sense of belonging. Replicating these kitchen staples in clay immortalizes both the shared memories and the feeling of finding the nonexistent homeland of Asian America.”
See more of her work on her site.
Of all the creatures on the planet, perhaps no other has inspired us quite like birds; they are strong, light, beautiful, and have the freedom to go anywhere they want to go. Birds have long inspired artist Tom Hill's mixed media sculptures made of carved wood, forged copper, and steel. The birds that he builds are characterizations of real species like owls and and black birds, capturing their natural personalities in a playful, even cartoonish way. He gives them big, rounded and expressive eyes, delicate feathers spun out of hardy wires, and long, spindly legs. "I tend to think of all my pieces as character studies. Spend a few seconds observing a bird; the turn of the head, the flash of an eye, puffed up feathers; each gesture conveys a wealth of visual material for the artist as we see the bird consider and interact intelligently with the world around it," he says.
Over the past few decades, Shary Boyle has garnered attention for a multifaceted practice that includes ceramics, painting, installations, drawings, and more. In this post, we take a look at some of her recent sculptures, which toy with vintage and ancient incarnations of rendering humanity through ceramics.
