BROOKE HINE
ARTIST STATEMENT
The act of art making involves an innate spirituality that enables me to address the cycle
of life and death. As an artist, my work is influenced by qualities observed in nature: the
negative space created by naked branches in winter, the path traced by insects in a hollow
log, or fossils found in the ground. I try to recreate my experience of such things with
clay.
The hands-on quality of working with clay is important to me. Through the manipulation
of materials I am allowed to convert emotion and memory into a tactile form. My hands
serve as a conduit that transforms emotional and spiritual raw materials into concrete
metaphors.
Various formal elements are crucial to my vision. Light and shadow have metaphorical
qualities and define space. The repetitions of curvilinear forms intend to create a lively
visual field that evokes life energy. The bone-like objects reference fossils and the strata
of the life cycle. In my artwork, traces of a history are evident, but the subtler details of a
forgotten past entice discovery.
http://artaxis.org/ceramics/hine_brooke/brooke_hine.html
bfreundly@gmail.com
Brett Freund Artist Statement
I enjoy investigating patterns of aesthetics and symbols in order to produce a
mash-up of form and imagery by exploring the decorative nature of the highbrow
and the surplus of culture.
When working I think about my own definitions of preciousness and value. How
does an object qualify itself as being important? Is what I’m after rare like a
diamond, does it take time to grow like a crystal or is it a symbol that references
a status or identity? Most importantly, how can I scrutinize cultural hierarchies
without undermining the possibility of growing in my craft?
