ANI KASTEN Debris Poems
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ANI KASTEN: DEBRIS POEMS January 18 – February 8, 2020
Opening Reception: January 18, 2020, 3:00 – 5:00 pm Artist Talk: January 19, 2020, 2:00 pm at Lacoste Keane Gallery
3 ANI KASTEN | Debris Poems
Ani Kasten’s fifth solo exhibition at Lacoste Keane Gallery builds on Kasten’s continued fascination with deconstructed vessel forms and introduces a new series of sculptural works called ‘Debris Poems’. Kasten was attracted to exploring the idea of a visual poem in her ceramic work by creating sculptural compositions from fragments and debris. A poem shears away everything but the most essential, evoking an emotional response through the sparest communication, constructing concepts and feelings into a hewn verbal form, without engaging narrative or logic.
Working within the concept of visual poems, Kasten employs the ceramic medium to reflect on issues weighing on our minds, such as environmental collapse, social collapse, and inner and outer strife. Earth materials like clay and rocks provide a perfect metaphor for exploring these ideas. Working in clay is about the search for balance between the natural tendencies of the materials and the form that is brought about with the human hand. Faced with monumental forces of nature and entropy, a sadness and feeling of futility is provoked with the notion that with hubris, humans seek to create lasting structure and survival in the face of decimation by forces outside of our control—earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes, violence and war.
In Kasten’s recent group of sculptural vessels, she reveals emerging structures and constructs under stress, made by the human hand but fighting against collapsing infrastructure. They delve into the cracking apart, warping and erosion that are natural expressions of the material, and explore the beauty and sadness in building from wreckage. Kasten’s sculpture Little Robot is made from scavenged shards of something former, with two ears made from fossilized hornets’ nests. In the act of scavenging, building and creating the visual poems, Kasten is searching for beauty and harmony in piecing back together what may seem like meaningless detritus of a collapsing world, reclaiming a tenuous and fragile feeling of meaning and purpose.
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Ani Kasten
Earthly Creature III Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire and studio debris 9h x 9w in
Ani Kasten
Large Orb with Porcelain Handles and Wire Nest Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire and studio debris 18h x 20w in
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Ani Kasten
Bowl with Pierced Lip Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and nichrome wire, 2019 12h x 14w in
Ani Kasten
Earthly Creature IV black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire, and studio debris, 2019 13h x 8w in
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Ani Kasten
Earthly Creature V Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire, studio debris and hornets' nest 13h x 8w in
Ani Kasten
Large Bowl with Woven Lip Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire, studio debris, gold leaf 14h x 16w x 10d in
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Ani Kasten
Large Bowl with Wire Loops Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, basalt chunks and nichrome wire 14h x 20w in
Ani Kasten
Footed Vessel with Wire Drawing black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and metal wire 8h x 6w x 10d in
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Ani Kasten
Tall Vessel w/ Blue, 2019 Black Stoneware and Porcelain with Wire and Pebbles 27h x 12.50w x 12d in
Ani Kasten
Earthly Creature II Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, studio debris and nichrome wire, 2019 10h x 8w in
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Ani Kasten
Yellow Robot Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips and glazes, kiln coil, nichrome wire 11h x 8w in
Ani Kasten
Low Bowl with Blue Ring Handle Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and nichrome wire, 2019 3h x 12w in
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Ani Kasten
Debris Poem #6 Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire, kiln coil, 2019 8h x 6w in
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Ani Kasten
Debris Poem #4, 2019 Black stoneware, porcelain, slips, glazes, metal wire, studio debris 7h x 4w in
Ani Kasten
Debris Poem #1, 2019 Black stoneware, porcelain, slips, glazes, metal wire, studio debris 7h x 4w in
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Ani Kasten
Debris Poem #2, 2019 Black stoneware, porcelain, slips, glazes, metal wire, studio debris 7h x 4w in
Ani Kasten
Debris Poem #5 Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire, kiln coil, 2019 8h x 6w x 8d in
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Ani Kasten
Bowl with Metallic Glaze and Porcelain Loops; black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes, nichrome wire and basalt chunks, 2019 12h x 13w in
Ani Kasten
Debris Poem #3, 2019 Black stoneware, porcelain, slips, glazes, metal wire, studio debris 7h x 4w in
Ani Kasten
Basin with Glacial Glaze Pool Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips and glazes, 2019 4h x 13w in
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Ani Kasten
Bowl with Electric Blue Handles Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips and glazes 4h x 12w in
Ani Kasten
Oblong Vessel with Piercings black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and nichrome wire, 2019 7h x 6w x 12d in
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Ani Kasten
Tea Bowls black stoneware and porcelain with slips, glazes and nichrome wire, 2019 3h x 5w in
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Ani Kasten
Bowl with Electric Blue Handles Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips and glazes 4h x 12w in
Ani Kasten
Large Bowl with Wire Drawings Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and nichrome wire, 2019 20h x 18w in
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Ani Kasten
Kurinuki Box I Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and studio debris, 2019 Mixed media 5h x 5w
Ani Kasten
Kurinuki Box IV Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and studio debris, 2019 Mixed media 5h x 5w
Ani Kasten
Kurinuki Box III black stoneware and porcelain with slips, glazes, and studio debris, 2019 Mixed media 5h x 5w
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Ani Kasten
Kurinuki Box IV black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and studio debris, 2019 Mixed media 5h x 5w in
Ani Kasten
Tall Lidded Box Black stoneware and porcelain with slips and glazes, 2019 Stoneware, mixed media 12h x 5w x 6d in
Ani Kasten
Earthly Creature I Black stoneware and porcelain ceramic with slips, glazes and nichrome wire, 2019 Mixed media 10h x 8w in
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