Carolyn Autenrieth (b. 1964, New York) ARTIST STATEMENT My work as a ceramic artist and painter, contemplates the transformative process in the natural world and celebrates the nuance and surprises found in the ‘ordinary’. The work is part of an investigative process of discovering narrative, metaphor, and beauty (sometimes terrible beauty) in my life and the world around me to invite a deeper response. Altered wheel thrown ceramics invite a tactile response; spiked clusters suggest organic regrowth and change, albeit a little dangerous. The pieces use contrast through texture, light and form to explore metaphors of community, memory, loss and transformation, while inviting the viewer to construct their own narratives. Paintings combine realism and abstraction to consider and celebrate the imperfections and the unexpected in everyday life and the natural world. Much of my research is hands-on as an avid outdoor recreationalist and wanderer; scribbling sketches of fleeting moments and challenging my formal training in realism to capture a more immediate response to the subject. I hope to challenge the viewer’s expectations by reimagining familiar forms, focusing on how texture invites and repels, the impact of weather, contrast and the passing of time. Some series may take months or years to feel the narrative has been completed.
