Collection: Sasha Barrett - Featured Artist

Artist Statement:

Born and raised in Sumy, Ukraine, the country's history and culture has always influenced my work as a ceramic artist. However, the horrific events happening to my home country have pushed me to work in different mediums to better express my ideas. My work now consists of three components: pots, sculpture, and documentary, both photography and film. These three avenues of making are in direct response to the current full-scale invasion by the Russian Forces in Ukraine.

I have turned to documentary film because I have found photography and film to be the most effective method of reminding the western viewer of the atrocities of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The photographic image can best expose the contrast between my daily routine and freedom, to that of my friends and family living in a war-torn country.

My ceramic sculptural work has also come to reflect war imagery. I use engraving to depict some of the imagery I have captured on film; illustrations of a society that has endured and adapted to new and awful realities. The muted, earthy, and camouflaged palette of the clay wall panels is also in direct reference to the de-saturated color palette of war. I fire most of my work in a charcoal- reduced atmosphere which lends the surface a violent and aged patina. The mark making and textures I assimilate into the pieces serve to further mimic the visual evidence of destruction.

Finally, pottery has become a way for me to marry craftsmanship, function, and aesthetics with essential aid as a fundraising platform. As vessels for sustenance, my cups and bowls usher in a sense of familiarity to the user while I use all sales to financially assist in the war effort. A simple mug can mend broken homes, support families, and objectively help save a life. With these ways of making incorporated into my artistic practice, I aim to spread awareness, to share stories, be of service, and help deter the ever so common war-fatigue. 

Bio: 

Sasha Barrett was born and raised in Sumy, Ukraine, where he spent half of his childhood. He has been a resident artist at various clay studios across the country, as well as completing his MFA from the University of Montana in 2025. Sasha’s artwork reflects on his experience and the stories of his friends and family in war-torn Ukraine. While primarily working with clay Sasha has broadened his studio practice to include metalsmithing, documentary film making, and photography. His work has been on display in numerous exhibitions nationwide, like the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and Montana Museum of Art and Culture. He was a recipient of the Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist Award, Alexa Rose Artist Grant, and most recently received the Bertha Mortan Scholarship. Currently Sasha is a professor of ceramics at Boise State University. When not in the studio Sasha pretends to be a professional chef.

Find Sasha’s Artaxis page: https://artaxis.org/artist/sasha-barrett/

Find Sasha on Instagram: @therealsashabarrett