Collection: Casey Whittier - Featured Artist

Casey Whittier received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is interested in the metaphorical and philosophical power of visual art and the ways in which the ceramic material creates direct connections between the geology of the earth, basic human needs, and complex metaphysical desires. 

Whittier teaches ceramics and social practice at the Kansas City Art Institute and works from her home studio. Whittier was named a 2020 Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine. She serves as Vice President for Artaxis.org. More of her work can be found at www.caseywhittier.com

Artist Statement:

My work is often born from one of the following experiences: an indescribable feeling of excitement; a nagging contradiction; a need to share something that I cannot yet explain; an obsession; a question or series of questions; a desire to respond to or reflect on a thought, feeling, event, or object; the recognition of something poignant or absurd; a deep pain; the experience of misunderstanding. This particular collection of works are ruminations on place and perspective from a series of travels - times when I have operated as a visitor. Works were made while in residency in Iceland, Mexico, and in Minnesota. 

The systems of construction I use are adopted from historical craft disciplines. Repetitive processes and systems of reliance are used as metaphors for our interconnectedness. I re-purpose as much as possible, experiment often,  and design to reduce my energy and material consumption. These sculptures are observations, manifest. I see each artwork I make as an opportunity to advocate for an intentional relationship with the material world and the world of metaphor. An exploration of touch and intuitive making is deeply embedded in my practice. 

Clay serves as palimpsest; I seek to exploit its inherent variations in surface and texture, its ability to mimic, to be thick, thin, ephemeral or permanent. The physical recordings that come through rolling, tearing, squishing, dipping, pushing, pinching, and scratching become representations of touch, of thought, of time spent.

Find Casey on artaxis at: https://artaxis.org/artist/casey-whittier/

Find Casey on Instagram at: @CaseyWhittier

** Casey Whittier's Artaxis Shop has ended. You can find more work available for sale by visiting the other Featured Artist collections HERE