November 6 - December 7, 2023
From Kilgore College:
“Artist Bio:
Jessica Sanders is a ceramic artist based in Tyler, TX. Her work is made up of ceramic pieces that are wired together to create flexible sculptures. Sanders received her Associates in Art at Tyler Junior College in 2015, her B.F.A at the University of Texas at Tyler in 2017, and her M.F.A and M.A. at the University of Texas at Tyler in 2020. She is currently a member at Inbetween Studios, in Tyler, Tx, where she has a studio space. She is also apart of a four woman ceramic art collective called The ASGs, and is the creator of ArtShare Zine. Some recent shows include Behind the Pine Curtain at Mighty Fine Gallery in Dallas Tx, Out of the Fire at Love Texas Art in Fort Worth, TX, and Patterned Rituals at Janette Kennedy Galley in Dallas, TX.
Artists’ Statement About the Work:
My work is a shape and pattern, and what it is to push them past those two-dimensional concepts. A trapezoid is not a thing, it is something an object can be in the form of, but the trapezoid is not the object. At what point do shapes and patterns become objects? Can they ever? And can patterned be moved and changed and still be what it was? I strive to visualize pattern in motion.
I am exploring these ideas with stacked shapes made out of ceramic pieces that I attach with wire. By nature the pieces are very flexible and bendable. They are compared to quilts a lot. While I do not see them as quilts, I love to look at them as a way of furthering the legacy of my family. I come from many quilts and fiber artists, both women and men. Like my shapes I am building onto what was before me.
The use of clay is important to my work for several reasons. First, it is sturdy and will hopefully hold up over the years. I am also really intrigued with the concept of vitrification. Clay starts out as this malleable substance that can be formed into something, then when fired it becomes that thing. It is stone and unchangeable. The closest thing you can do to reform it is break it. Knowing that, I am even more interested in these vitrified pieces I have made, that I have found a way to make moveable again.”
Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Gallery, Kilgore College
1100 Broadway
Kilgore, 75662 Texas
(903) 983-8166
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