Heather Kaplan | Plateau
Artist Statement
My work is about uncanny landscapes and the play around creating and forming new familiarly unfamiliar spaces. I am inspired by the foreignness and subtle textures of the desert and using the vernacular of toys, figurines, and collectibles in their form, content, and size my works enters the realm of the imaginative. This work is also interested in the ontological and epistemological position of relationality in that it explores relationships between objects and discourse through play and assemblage. My work begs to be arranged, rearranged, and played with. I create a visual language or encyclopedia of ceramic objects that I later curate, collect, or play with. Texture and form drive my decision making as well as a desire to keep the content and narrative fluid.
My work is about exploring the vernacular of parts and the relationships that they create together, and setting in motion an implied narrative that the viewer is very much empowered to consider and enter into. These objects in their juxtaposition of everydayness, abstraction, and figuration, resist and invite narrative while rejecting ossification as a single author-driven story. Depending upon who curates (interacts with, arranges, etc.) the collection of objects different stories unfold and I welcome the viewer to engage in ways yet known.
Specifically, this collection of works also deals with a level of personal metaphor and connection to place. For me the plateau or mesa is both a geologic phenomenon (a kind of natural delineation of space, a boundary, and a kind of presentation) and a state of mind, being, or knowing. I am fascinated with the notion of how a tray supports a collection of objects and implies a kind of imaginary boundary for ritual or describes a set (like a tea tray to a tea set). At the same time the notion of a plateau or a mesa (in the southwest) describes a frustration, stagnation, or a leveling off (like in a workout or a weight loss plan) and at this time I am interested in sitting and exploring this flattening and confinement to see what is productive in it.
Artist Bio
Heather is an artist, educator, and researcher living in the southwest. Heather received a BFA in ceramics and a BS and MS in Art Education from the Pennsylvania State University and earned her doctorate in Art Education from the Ohio State University. Employed as an Associate Professor of Art Education at the University of Texas El Paso where her art making is an integral part of her life and career. She is inspired by the textures of the desert and the complexity and contradictions of the border region. Since relocating in 2016 she has been using her ceramics to explore how landscapes can tell stories and create relations while resisting a single story and asking for participation from the viewer. Heather has exhibited her work across the United States in juried shows and one/two person exhibitions and she has given artist talks and workshops related to her work. Her academic writing and research involve the study of studio making and young children and she believes that this interest bleeds into her making practice.
Artist Statement
My work is about uncanny landscapes and the play around creating and forming new familiarly unfamiliar spaces. I am inspired by the foreignness and subtle textures of the desert and using the vernacular of toys, figurines, and collectibles in their form, content, and size my works enters the realm of the imaginative. This work is also interested in the ontological and epistemological position of relationality in that it explores relationships between objects and discourse through play and assemblage. My work begs to be arranged, rearranged, and played with. I create a visual language or encyclopedia of ceramic objects that I later curate, collect, or play with. Texture and form drive my decision making as well as a desire to keep the content and narrative fluid.
My work is about exploring the vernacular of parts and the relationships that they create together, and setting in motion an implied narrative that the viewer is very much empowered to consider and enter into. These objects in their juxtaposition of everydayness, abstraction, and figuration, resist and invite narrative while rejecting ossification as a single author-driven story. Depending upon who curates (interacts with, arranges, etc.) the collection of objects different stories unfold and I welcome the viewer to engage in ways yet known.
Specifically, this collection of works also deals with a level of personal metaphor and connection to place. For me the plateau or mesa is both a geologic phenomenon (a kind of natural delineation of space, a boundary, and a kind of presentation) and a state of mind, being, or knowing. I am fascinated with the notion of how a tray supports a collection of objects and implies a kind of imaginary boundary for ritual or describes a set (like a tea tray to a tea set). At the same time the notion of a plateau or a mesa (in the southwest) describes a frustration, stagnation, or a leveling off (like in a workout or a weight loss plan) and at this time I am interested in sitting and exploring this flattening and confinement to see what is productive in it.
Artist Bio
Heather is an artist, educator, and researcher living in the southwest. Heather received a BFA in ceramics and a BS and MS in Art Education from the Pennsylvania State University and earned her doctorate in Art Education from the Ohio State University. Employed as an Associate Professor of Art Education at the University of Texas El Paso where her art making is an integral part of her life and career. She is inspired by the textures of the desert and the complexity and contradictions of the border region. Since relocating in 2016 she has been using her ceramics to explore how landscapes can tell stories and create relations while resisting a single story and asking for participation from the viewer. Heather has exhibited her work across the United States in juried shows and one/two person exhibitions and she has given artist talks and workshops related to her work. Her academic writing and research involve the study of studio making and young children and she believes that this interest bleeds into her making practice.
Inventory
24. Playing Telephone, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6"
25. Remote Extremity, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6”
26. More to the Pointer, low fire clay, 7” x 5” x 4”
27. Tropical Blues, low fire clay, 4” x 5” x 5”
28. Grasping @ Sour Patch Straws, low fire clay, 4” x 6” x 4.5”
29. Too Lorn Vermin, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6”
30. Flox Blossom, low fire clay, 5.5” x 9” x 7”
31. I Never Wear Orange: It’s My Favorite Color, low fire clay, 7” x 5” x 4”
32. I’m All Thumbs, low fire clay, 6” x 5” x 6”
33. Elegy for Pee Wee, low fire clay, 6.5” x 11.5” x 6, SOLD
34. Cherry Limeade, low fire clay, 4” x 4” x 3.5”, SOLD
35. Stumps, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6”
36. Mic Check, low fire clay, 4.5” x 7” x 6.5”
37. Red All Over, low fire clay, 8” x 8” x 6”
24. Playing Telephone, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6"
25. Remote Extremity, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6”
26. More to the Pointer, low fire clay, 7” x 5” x 4”
27. Tropical Blues, low fire clay, 4” x 5” x 5”
28. Grasping @ Sour Patch Straws, low fire clay, 4” x 6” x 4.5”
29. Too Lorn Vermin, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6”
30. Flox Blossom, low fire clay, 5.5” x 9” x 7”
31. I Never Wear Orange: It’s My Favorite Color, low fire clay, 7” x 5” x 4”
32. I’m All Thumbs, low fire clay, 6” x 5” x 6”
33. Elegy for Pee Wee, low fire clay, 6.5” x 11.5” x 6, SOLD
34. Cherry Limeade, low fire clay, 4” x 4” x 3.5”, SOLD
35. Stumps, low fire clay, 12” x 6” x 6”
36. Mic Check, low fire clay, 4.5” x 7” x 6.5”
37. Red All Over, low fire clay, 8” x 8” x 6”
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Buckham Gallery is funded by the following organizations:
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Generous support is provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
This program is sponsored by the Greater Flint Arts Council Share Art Genesee Grant Program made possible by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Millage funds. Your tax dollars are at work!
This program is sponsored by the Greater Flint Arts Council Share Art Genesee Grant Program made possible by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Millage funds. Your tax dollars are at work!
