“What Comes Down Must Go Up.” All images © Andréa Keys Connell, shared with permission
Andréa Keys Connell has an immeasurably tender outlook on craft. Viewing object-making as a way to better understand how art adds to the human experience, the North Carolina-based artist feels tremendous joy in sculpting clay.
Coated with expressive brushstrokes in exuberant hues, Connell’s figures embrace one another and exist in close proximity, melding into single entities. Her sculptural compositions are inspired by the sheer delight she experiences while creating and the sentimental stories on which she bases her works.
Fascinated by the complexity of the material, the artist explains that in terms of process, she has always approached clay in the same way that painters approach paint. “I feel like [clay] has the ability to create a more dynamic painting,” she shares. “With my pieces, I’m always chasing an image, and when I see that image in my head, I see it first as a painting.”
A few years ago, a fire destroyed the community art space Connell and her partner had been running, and several of her ceramic sculptures perished as well. Although many objects were completely reduced to shards, some survived completely intact. Finding enduring works encouraged her family to, as she recounts, “turn toward what hadn’t been lost. In this way, we continued our search with not only resolve, but a sort of happiness.” Sifting through the rubble provided a sense of closure, and in its own way, the act of searching through grief connected with her overarching perspective of treating craft itself as a form of seeking. Connell expresses:
This experience had a profound impact on how I now approach my making. The reason I miss many of the pieces I lost in the fire is they marked time in a special way, and at their best, they felt alive to their moment. They were, and remain, things I want to continue to hold. The lesson for me is: if the object is lost, the language of care is clarified—and I hope this informs my work. I want to hold the present moment, and to hold the things I have however I am able to.
Connell is preparing for an upcoming shows at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville and Jane Hartsook Gallery in New York City later this year. Find more work on the artist’s website, and follow her on Instagram for updates.
“Hold On”
“Lean”
“Shelter”
“Window”
“Balance”
“Holding”
“Hug”
“Slumber”
Detail of “Hold On”
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