Mindy Horn
American
“I believe that the particular qualities of dimension, curve, texture and color in a work of art are ultimately what compel a person toward intimacy, to welcoming the art into their life. I believe the experience of art gives us a moment of sanctuary, a moment that touches our emotions and our intellect. It lifts us from the mundane and awakens us. I think the role of artists has always been the same. Looking at art makes people step back and look more clearly at something, be it the work of art, the world or themselves. It often makes them feel something new.”
Ceramicist Mindy Horn began working with clay as a functional potter, but over the years became more interested in making non-functional vessels and sculpture. Today, her ceramic work is focused on wall pieces and sculptural vessels in porcelain.
Her process in creating a vessel begins by visualizing a sculpture in her mind first, and then gradually discovering its meaning as it takes form. Central to her work are ideas about growth and transformation, affecting the way that she physically manipulates the clay. As the piece evolves, it becomes an expression of the “perfect imperfection” of lives weathered and buffeted by time and experience, the vessels purposely thrown off center, crooked and uneven, with surfaces cracked and crusty. In stark contrast to the typically smooth perfection of porcelain, they are an expression of the complexity of life, a call to examine and celebrate our differences.
Mindy Horn’s wall pieces explore the theme of multiplicity, with their hundreds of clay fragments assembled on thin porcelain tiles mounted together to form the design. The tiles are made using templates, each a composition of beads, sticks and draped porcelain slabs from tiny bits of clay. The contrast between the purposeful, structured intent of the piece through the use templates and the repetition of elements, and the end result, which invites the viewer to examine and contemplate the differences, again speaks to the themes of growth and time. The artist expresses these themes in the hope that thoughtful contemplation of what is common in all of us, and celebration of the beauty and complexity of our differences will lead to greater love and respect for all.
