We’re eager to get insight from artists about their work, not only how they make their art, but also what they were thinking and feeling as they were making it. San Francisco artist Bill Abright recently sent us a series of sculptures, which he describes as a whole in his artist statement. He also supplied us with notes on each individual work, describing how he made it and his archetypal thoughts of what the sculpture symbolizes. Here is Abright in his own words:
Bill Abright, Sentry, 24 x 10 x 9 inches. Sentry is an alert alter ego and the first on the scene of my creative journey, stable in his foundation of vessels. He is a vigilant lookout for new ideas as well as a target for criticism. Handbuilt with stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Bisqued to cone 6 with underglazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
This series of ceramic sculptures focus on the interplay between the interior space and the exterior form of the human figure. I am curious about what is beneath the surface of things in both the natural and manmade world. I create layers of complex interior spaces suggestive of organs or skeletal structure by combining wheel thrown and hand built ceramic forms into conglomerated recognizable shapes.
Bill Abright, Carbon, 24 x 10 x 7 inches. Carbon is the salesman we are wary of. He wears a mask with nothing behind it. He is heartless and represents a darker side of ourselves. Handbuilt with Stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Bisqued to cone 6 with underglazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
Bill Abright, Surgery, 24.5 x 11 x 9 inches. Surgery is an interpretation of my vulnerability after my hip and hernia operations. He hides sedated within his body, a helpless witness to his own dissection. Handbuilt with Stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Bisqued to cone 6 with underglazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
My exploration of form through the process of construction and deconstruction reveal cave-like interiors of intentional randomness and infuse my work and my process with continuing discovery. The content and title of each figure develops through insights that present themselves to me throughout the process. Their identity is defined through my empathy for other people but function as self-portraits as well. My figures are a testament to the variety and durability of humanity; still standing despite the burdens, inflictions, disasters and dissections we endure.
Bill Abright, Server, 14 x 5 x 3 inches. Server bears his load but is bored by it. We enjoy serving until it becomes expected and then it’s just a job. Handbuilt with stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Soda fired to cone 11 with colored slips and glazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
Bill Abright, Target, 13.5 x 4 x 4 inches. Target is vulnerable to predation. She offers an open hand but has little to give but herself, and she knows that. Handbuilt with stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Bisqued to cone 6 with underglazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
Bill Abright was introduced to clay by Bruce Duke at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton in the late 60’s. He completed his graduate degree at San Francisco State in 1974 working with Bud McKee, Stephen De Staebler, Joe Hawley and David Kuraoka. Abright has recently retired from teaching ceramics at the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA since 1975 and has been influential in the lives of many artists. He has exhibited throughout the U.S. and his work is in many private and museum collections including the Oakland Museum of California, and the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Do you love or loathe these works of contemporary ceramic art? Let us know in the comments.
Bill Abright, H-e-l-l-o, 14 x 5 x 5 inches. My buoyant friendly self is open hearted but a bit strange in anatomy. A bit sad when there is never an answer back. Handbuilt with stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Bisqued to cone 6 with underglazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
Bill Abright, Twins, 14 x 4 x 5 inches. An expectant mother of two with visions of their future. Handbuilt with stoneware thrown forms, extruded sticks, constructed and deconstructed. Bisqued to cone 6 with underglazes, finished with acrylic paint and colored pencil.
Hi Bill I appreciate this eloquent explanation of your process. Understanding your intent and process increases my appreciation of your work and draws me closer to it.
There is much to say about this work, but important to me at this moment is this concept of self-disclosure, which I have myself tried to explore lately. Of course people want to know why or how you do things, but what about the artist herself? What is the good or purpose of disclosing the conceptual evolution, the fountain of meaning, the story, the personal journey? I have gone out of my way to document the simplest piece with documentation festooning, surrounding, sometimes overwhelming a piece of work, just to see what that does when it becomes public. It becomes an aspect of the work, inherent and internal to it. Without that description the work would be homeless, it could be taken into any alternative universe by the spectator whose imagination it stimulated. The story keeps it moored, respected, and less vulnerable to change and neglect. Look at Grayson Perry’s work for the series currently on Channel 4 – Grayson Perry: All Man. There is darn sight more stuff about why and how and when than the results themselves, whose meaning becomes inextricably linked with the interviews, personalities and musings. The objects are of him and from him and about him, but they are completely rooted in a theatrical production, on offer before the object emerges.
Bill is not only a very talented and accomplished artist, but his teaching skills and sharing of knowledge should not be minimized. I was fortunate to have Bill as my teacher and guide in nuturing my ceramic journey.