Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Forster.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Growing up in rural Minnesota, I had abundant opportunities to explore the bucolic landscape. In addition to the passing of the seasons, there were other encounters that allowed me to witness impermanence and change. Specifically, I recall looking at the dilapidated farm buildings and piles of cast-off agricultural equipment, marveling at their frailty and considering the people who had come before me leaving these things behind. Upon discovering ceramics, I was immediately drawn to its rich history and how these early objects documented early people and how their cultures functioned.
Please tell us about your art.
My practice is multi-faceted with a focus on entropy. I create both objects and installations that exploit either the history of the medium or in its un-fired state, the living qualities of the material. While I don’t let anyone building process dictate my artistic vocabulary, I often press clay into repurposed objects such as Styrofoam packing materials to create abstract, industrial looking forms with an implied sense of weathering. Inspired by the things I saw as a child in “junk piles” as well as historical ceramics, I intend to make objects that reflect how our culture functions.
My installation work often repeats forms from a few select “molds” throughout a composition as a reference to mass-production and our throw-away society. Formally, this also creates a relationship between otherwise disparate parts of an environment. Because I often reuse parts of one installation to create its next iteration, things tend to periodically break during installation or transport making entropy an organic part of my process. The smaller shards typically skirt larger pieces to imply the sculptures are decaying on location.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Work hard but play harder and persistence pays off.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I currently have work in two exhibitions in Houston. In the Orton Gallery, at the Glassell School of Art, I have an installation along with two other artists, and in Tank Space, at Silver Street Studios I have an installation on view until December 16th. I will be creating an outdoor installation along Heights Boulevard in Houston this coming Spring for True North, a display of outdoor public sculpture.
Additionally, I will be participating in Fresh Arts Winter Holiday Art Market (WHAM) at Winter Street Studios November 16th-18th. Here, I will have smaller objects and functional pottery.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jeffforster.com
- Phone: 618-910-9229
- Email: throwingjeff@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @jeffsthings
Image Credit:
Jeff Forster
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