Breaking through boundaries: The Sculpture Center’s new exhibit highlights ceramics like never before
“It’s a baby, and it needs to eat, so it’s like very very needy right now,” said artist Kristen Cliffel, referencing a piece she was working on.
Cliffel takes time to nurture her pieces. If they’re not right — she’ll start over.
“I’m happier to remake it and make it right,” Cliffel said.
She was providing each piece with the care of someone raising a child. It’s fitting, because her work often has themes of the work it takes to build a home.
Sculptures on Display at Surface and Structure. (Spectrum News 1/Corey O’Leary)
“It’s not something that I resent, it’s something that I come to with joy and reverence,” Cliffel said.
Four of her pieces are now on display at the Sculpture Center, as part of their Surface and Structure exhibit.
“Everybody when they were a child probably made pinch pots in school,” said Grace Chin, the executive director of the Sculpture Center in Cleveland.
She said clay is relatable, but the new exhibit showcases artists pushing past the perceived boundaries of the medium.
Kristen Cliffel spends hours in her studio making ceramic flowers for her pieces. (Spectrum News 1/Corey O’Leary)
“Looking at ways you can disrupt the surface, whether it’s through glazes or structure or shape,” Chin said.
Cliffel has long used the medium to explore family and connection, like in her piece Homemaker, which is now on display at The Sculpture Center.
“As you can see, really changing the surface and materials with this very consistent flower pattern,” Chin said, referencing the piece.
Clifel said the design of the house was inspired by a trip to Belgium she took.
Sculptures in the exhibit play with structure. (Spectrum News 1/Corey O’Leary)
“I love using the basic symbol of home,” she said. “That shape is so ubiquitous, and everyone can connect with it.”
The piece took almost five years to complete, with Cliffel spending hours in her studio making flowers.
The show aims to upend expectations on what clay can do.
“That’s what I love about it,” Clifel said. “You can really push the boundaries of what is expected of it and bend it to your will or the needs that you have as a communicator.”
The exhibit will run until March 28 with free admission.
