In the Small Space:
Kathy Kearns, Bird Goddess and Ancestor, wood-fired stoneware, in the Small Space at Transmission Gallery
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Kathy Kearns
Strangely Familiar November 30, 2023 - January 20, 2024
Artist's Reception, Saturday, December 9th, 1- 4 pm Artists' Talk with Toru Sugita, Saturday, January 20th, starting at 2 pm Transmission Gallery presents recent ceramic work by Kathy Kearns, reflecting a connection to spirit, myth and her Greek heritage.
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Artists' Statement
Strangely Familiar: Sculptures by Kathy Kearns
The work in this show suggests feelings of recognition that are not immediately defined, in the way that ancient myths can feel relevant to our lives in this current moment. These pieces are not meant to represent any specific myth, but rather to evoke emotions and states of being that are “strangely familiar”.
These works are both a departure and an extension of my functional wheel thrown vessels. They are informed by my travels in Greece over the past decade, and my time working at the Mudhouse Art Residency in Crete. At Mudhouse I created small models which became larger sculptures when I returned to work in my California studio. The Greek landscape, culture, language, the traces of ancient civilizations, as well as my own Greek ancestral heritage–with family ties in the Peloponnese region–has led me to this body of work.
This show embodies two kinds of works: figurines and figurative sculpture. The figurines, the small porcelain statuettes, were inspired by Greek votives that were left in temples, shrines, tombs, and peak sanctuaries as a way to appease and worship the Gods and Goddesses. These pieces are named after nymphs and goddesses from Greek mythology. The figurative sculptures describe actions, and the titles are verbs–some written in Greek on the pieces.
The work in this show was fired in a large 16 foot long anagama wood kiln with a crew of artists at Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology in Northern California. Wood firing is a transformational process. The pieces are fired without glaze to a temperature of 2340 F. The kiln must be stoked with wood for eight days and nights. This laborious process creates surfaces of wood ash glaze, marks from the flame and gritty textures from the coal bed. Every firing is different, and no two pieces are ever alike!
- Kathy Kearns
Strangely Familiar: Sculptures by Kathy Kearns
The work in this show suggests feelings of recognition that are not immediately defined, in the way that ancient myths can feel relevant to our lives in this current moment. These pieces are not meant to represent any specific myth, but rather to evoke emotions and states of being that are “strangely familiar”.
These works are both a departure and an extension of my functional wheel thrown vessels. They are informed by my travels in Greece over the past decade, and my time working at the Mudhouse Art Residency in Crete. At Mudhouse I created small models which became larger sculptures when I returned to work in my California studio. The Greek landscape, culture, language, the traces of ancient civilizations, as well as my own Greek ancestral heritage–with family ties in the Peloponnese region–has led me to this body of work.
This show embodies two kinds of works: figurines and figurative sculpture. The figurines, the small porcelain statuettes, were inspired by Greek votives that were left in temples, shrines, tombs, and peak sanctuaries as a way to appease and worship the Gods and Goddesses. These pieces are named after nymphs and goddesses from Greek mythology. The figurative sculptures describe actions, and the titles are verbs–some written in Greek on the pieces.
The work in this show was fired in a large 16 foot long anagama wood kiln with a crew of artists at Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology in Northern California. Wood firing is a transformational process. The pieces are fired without glaze to a temperature of 2340 F. The kiln must be stoked with wood for eight days and nights. This laborious process creates surfaces of wood ash glaze, marks from the flame and gritty textures from the coal bed. Every firing is different, and no two pieces are ever alike!
- Kathy Kearns
