Kameron Robinson: Empty But Solid
Kameron Robinson: Empty But Solid
Sept. 18 — Oct. 21, 2023
Artist Reception & Talk: Saturday, Oct. 21 @ 11:00am.
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
This body of work started as an exploration into the reality of loss, separation, and self-identity. During the confusion of the COVD-19 pandemic, I found myself working on shape studies from traditional Korean Maebyeong vases. I was drawn to these forms due to their elegance and visual sturdiness. I pursued this form, giving it personality and motion through the glazing and firing process. I began to see a collaboration between ceramic form and glaze. I started making crawling, cratering, and peeling glazes and pairing them with local clay and shards of glass to give the work more depth, fluidity, and presence. Throughout the majority of my ceramic artworks and especially in the body of work presented, I attempt to ground the creations with local materials to bring both awareness to the simple natural beauty that surrounds us and to encourage viewers to consider their role within their ecosystem and community.
As this body of work evolved, there was a repeating phrase or mantra running through the back of my head; Empty but Solid. It came from a proverb in the Tao Te Ching ``We shape clay to birth a vessel, yet it’s the hollow within that makes it useful.” When you lose someone close to you or realize that a certain period in your life is over, it’s not the reality of that loss that really hurts, it’s the daily separation, the hollowness. This body of work entitled “Empty but Solid” speaks to the idea that even in times where we feel like we have nothing to give, our presence is paramount, we are empty but still solid. These are empty vessels, but it’s an empty vessel that has the margin to be filled.
BIO
Kameron Robinson is the Director of East Side Studios, an art studio in Anderson, Indiana that focuses on ceramic workshops, studio spaces, and community engagement as a ministry of East Side Church of God. He also helps run The Wandering Press, a mobile screen printing business, with his friend and frequent collaborator Jeffrey Jackson. Kameron continues using his teaching ability as an Adjunct Professor of Design Arts at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Anderson University he went on to earn a Master of Arts in Intercultural Service from Anderson University School of Theology. Kameron's artwork focuses on the relationship between the natural world, human existence, and the empty spaces in between. Using local clay and traditional ceramic techniques he creates sculptural pieces and functional artwork for galleries as well as your cupboard.
