Untitled (frosted)

“As a ceramic artist, I am invested in the idiosyncratic possibilities of the ceramic surface and its ability to reveal meaning beyond itself. Conceptually, my work addresses issues of post-naturalism, which describes nature intentionally altered by humans. The dimensional surfaces in the work are reminiscent of coral and other textures in the natural world, advancing a conversation between form and surface regarding hazards of excessive human intervention and adverse impacts on the environment. Ultimately, the work marries the beauty of a uniquely crafted object with an awareness of the distress occurring in the natural world.” – Bobby Silverman

"Wheel thrown and hand-built using a mid-range porcelain. The work is first fired to its maturing temperature without glaze. Each piece is then sprayed with multiple layers and then fired again. This process is repeated until the desired texture is realized., Human interaction with the natural world has never been more catastrophically invasive. Yet the nostalgia for a lost primeval paradise or the utopia of a saved environment leaves us empty handed. I am interested in the defining the beauty found in a post-natural environment, the world in which we must live, survive and create.

Thus, my current investigation began with the possibilities and intersections of industrial materials with ceramic craft. The conversation of materials forms the basis of an exploration of the dualities that exist in the current post natural order.

Ultimately all forms of surface pigmentation implies a mineral and a medium. Industrial processes such as car painting, chrome,glass or resin coloring complement ceramic glazes in an unparalleled and as yet, unexplored way. The contemporary meets the timeless, the machine meets the hand, chance meets formulated products and forms of application.

Wrestling those highly developed types of surface and color treatment from their respective industries and treating them with the rigor and ethos of traditional
craftsmanship reveals the lurking, ironic beauty of humans' heavy hand. The extent of our interventionist self destruction is also home to our creative impulse.

With this hack, and this line of inquiry, I aim to combine the material richness of contemporary life, the beauty of uniquely crafted objecthood with an awareness of the distress occurring in the natural world.

My proposal is to look at what we have and make it ethical, beautiful and very much of the moment."

Series: Bobby Silverman (textured series),Bobby Silverman - Statement