Mindy Horn
Biography
Mindy Horn has worked as a ceramic artist and as a paper conservator in Connecticut and New York.
Her ceramics are in public and private collections. Her conservation practice works with museums, galleries and private collectors. She spends much of her time these days in her ceramics studio and in her garden in Weston, Connecticut.
Her interest in ceramics and paper conservation relate to one another. Both disciplines require meticulous work, an appreciation of science and of technique, and the love and understanding of art. Porcelain and paper are related materials. Both are fragile, transformable and respond wholly to touch. With time and use, both materials perceptively record their own history.
Artist Statement
My ceramic work takes the form of wall pieces and sculptural vessels in porcelain.
Ideas about growth and transformation affect the way that I physically manipulate the clay and are central to the meaning of my work. I think that in order to grow, all things must become imperfect. A life, an idea, and a work of art all begin with a kind of perfection, an untested plan of what they are meant to be. As things come to maturity, they are nurtured and buffeted by forces beyond their control – natural phenomenon, ideas, and time. These forces challenge and alter the blueprint, forcing both art and living things to become more complex, nuanced and ambiguous. Each becomes richer in history, developing layers of meaning and visual complexity. The perfect is transformed into a finer imperfect.
Multiplicity is important in my work. My wall pieces are made up of hundreds of clay fragments, assembled on thin porcelain tiles that are mounted together to form the design. The tiles are made using templates. Muscle memory directs the formation of beads, sticks and draped porcelain slabs from tiny bits of clay. In the end, these elements have all been made the same way, using the same plan, and yet they are all different from one another. When all of the fragments and tiles are placed together, the tension between the sameness and the subtle but distinct variation between each element creates the resonance and complexity that I hope to achieve. I believe one can also recognize the beauty of living things in this abstraction.
I think that the particular qualities of dimension, curve, texture and color in a work of art are ultimately what compels a person toward intimacy, to welcoming art into their life. I believe the experience of art gives us a moment of sanctuary that clarifies our emotions and intellect. It lifts us from the mundane and awakens us.
Exhibits
Dedee Shattuck Gallery | July 5 - 29, 2018 | Seeking the Line
