Incidental Artifact: Ceramics by Vijay V. Paniker 

Artist Statement: There is an industrial history intrinsically linked with ceramics. Alongside creating ritual art, ceramics had a utilitarian function. In today's society, other materials such as metal, plastics, and papers have in large part, replaced the use of ceramics, so too have machines replaced the potter. In my recent series, I rework the modern industrial artifact in the medium of ceramics, not as a replacement of these newer materials but in homage to the history that ceramics has served.
    I use the medium of various clays to render metal and other industrial objects. I seek to make my sculptures look as though they are mass- produced.  In this, my sculptures have the look of having been manufactured by machines rather than an individual.
    I also look to express the ephemeral state. My subjects are industrial objects used in daily life, but are also considered disposable. They are simple items like a paint can that is discarded after a short time and is easily replaceable. My surface treatments try to show the passage of time, by recreating the look of use through glazes and paints that have been sand blasted or the application of decals. Be it the rusted surface of the gas can, or the beaten look of leather, one can see that each piece was once used but forgotten after it performed its function.

 

 

Paintings by Kristin E. Haas

I am interested in the concepts of thought and memory and how they are intertwined and connected to each other.  Our feelings about the world are formed and affected by the experiences each of us has had.  Each of the paintings in this series represents a fragment about my daily life.  The purpose of this body of work is to give a visual rationalization of where questions are worked out about the connections between my thought and my memory.
    The images in my work come out of mixing the paint directly on the canvas, instead of on a palette.  Rather than being guided by the traditions of painting, I have chosen to take the more innate approach.  Out of this, my paintings have become increasingly non-objective over time, with non-representational shapes juxtaposed and layered, with various colors, brushstrokes, lines, and textures combined to eventually bring forth abstract images that I can relate to.  Environments are created in the space of the canvas, which are spontaneous, impulsive and driven by my own personal taste and experiences.
    Abstract painting provides no formal hint about how you are supposed to think or feel.  I paint from my experiences, but place the paintings there for you to come up with your own interpretations from the world around you or by referencing your past experiences.  My work often expresses concepts of movement, fluidity, and compositional tension in the world as seen through Time Flies and A Fusion of Different Traditions and Cultures.  A painting is not reality.  But in the case of these paintings, a new reality is made up by the person looking at them.