#lindaswanson

Doubles (Reverse), Linda Swanson, 1986, Brooklyn Museum: Contemporary Art

© Linda Swanson Size: 15-3/4 x 26 x 6 inches Medium: Oil on panel

Assignment 3 - Material Based Ceramic Art - Linda Swanson

Images 1-4: Osmosgenesis II, 2012, bentonite, water, nylon, metal wood

“In spite of our ability to explain the natural world, there is still a certain mystery to how matter changes form, seeming at first to be one thing, then becoming another. Light things become dark, soft things become hard, solid things begin to flow. Such transformations open onto questions of our own being and becoming and how we find ourselves in a world of flux. Seeing simple mysteries of matter in the elements of earth, water and fire, may remind us that the universe is an amazing place, a source of wonder. “  -Linda Swanson

In the work titled Osmogenesis II, Linda Swanson explores the raw and vulnerable nature of clay through it’s physical reaction and relationship with water, air, and time.  Osmogenesis II, in my personal opinion, is the best and most carefully executed example of the concept material-based ceramic art. 

This work provides the viewer a direct experience with the transformative process that clay experiences when exposed to elements such as water, air, and time.  The concept of “time” is the more elusive variable within this piece. This work is constantly evolving and transforming, for even when the water has dripped dry, the eroded clay formation begins to transform as it’s exposure to air causes it dry over a period of time, becoming vulnerable to cracks and fractures the work continues to evolve in appearance.