CLARA HOAG | 2023 ARTIST STATEMENT:
I use an architectural visual language in my ceramic sculptures to describe the complexity of the human body and mind. After all, a body is like a city: Highways and arteries, cars and blood cells, bricks and bones. Like a city, a person can be built, fixed, mapped, and charted; like a person, a city (or civilization) can grow, thrive, and decline.
I enjoy this juxtaposition in my figure sculptures. In “Lost in Thought,” a dense city rises up from an obscured face, suggesting a busy mind. In “Garden Child,” the fragmented and totemic quality of the body alludes to skyscrapers and core samples; scaffolding and debris are layered into the form, while carvings and decals become tattoos and murals. In all of my work, organic colors humanize each piece and juxtapose bright blue, yellow, and white surfaces (the colors of Tyvek siding on new buildings).
Ultimately, my work is about finding awe and beauty in the immensity of our existence: the landscape looks fragile, but it holds; vulnerability and resilience fight, constantly seeking balance.
