G. E. Colpitts
Artist Email Link

Vessel Form #131

wheel thrown and hand-built terra cotta with natural lithium glaze, fired to cone 06

7" x 6.5" x 6.5"
2011

$750

I have been working with clay and drawing for over thirty years. All of the work I do addresses one concern: my view of the human condition and our ways of dealing with failure, fragmentation, and loss.

The Vessel Forms both as a series and individually look whole when viewed on the outside. A look inside each piece reveals various fragments at different levels. This juxtaposition of wholeness and fragmentation expresses the ways in which we humans deal with the fragmentation of our lives, taking what might be viewed as mistakes, failures, accidents, disappointments, or tragedies into a cohesive whole. Most of the work we do is internal; therefore, the fragments appear on the insides of the pieces.

Because of my interest in history and memory, I view the exteriors as an overarching “metanarrative” form, while the interiors relate to the individual “narrative” of our lives. While each piece is distinctly individual, their similarity in form points to the commonality of our experience.