Heidi Tarver ( She/her )

The vessel as vehicle for artistic expression references both its significance across human history and its contemporary power as metaphor for the human body, consciousness, and our fragile planet.

Unlike most ceramic artists, the starting point for my sculptural vessels is not the 3D form but the 2D universe of pattern and color. By designing multi-layered geometric patterns on a computer, then converting them into stencils, I can slip print (a process of printing using liquid clay) my brightly colored pattern ideas on flat sheets of clay. These printed clay sheets are then formed into three dimensional objects whose shapes frequently and subtly reference the original pattern. As the object emerges, the original pattern takes on volume, movement, tactile complexity and ultimately a material presence distinct from yet in conversation with its graphic origin.

I am fascinated by the relationship between graphic art/pattern/abstraction and its projection into the three-dimensional world of objects and embodied lived experience. What is the nature of the interplay between the mental mapping we use to navigate our lives and the concrete materiality of our lived experience? How can graphics be made to come alive when expanded into objects? These are the questions I have been exploring in my recent ceramic work.

In Chromatic Mind: Star-crossed, the vessel form serves as a metaphor for the human body, consciousness, and our fragile planet. This vessel emerged out of a complex geometric pattern which represents the harmony and beauty of human life and the natural world.  The almost unbearable poignancy of this fragile beauty in the face of present-day global challenges is the motivating drive behind the piece.

In She’s Losing Her Marbles: Winter is Coming, the vessel expresses the vulnerability and evanescence of our corporeal existence, while also referencing the precariousness – regarding everything from personal mental health to planetary survival - of our current moment in time. In the face of existential dread, the talismanic marble – portable amulet marked by the 8-pointed star, a universal symbol of hope and wholeness – offers a prayer for survival.

My influences are many, including Islamic architecture, Japanese wagara, American quilt design and Venetian blown glass. Artists and designers who have influenced my work include Antoni Gaudi, William Morris, Owen Jones, Kohei Kyomori, Lalla Essaydi, Tony Duquette, Yayoi Kusama, and Lino Tagliapietra.

In our era, the unique object has been replaced by mass production and, more recently, by digital versions of the material world. I hope that my work offers an opportunity to reconsider the fundamental human activity of hand craftsmanship and the power of the singular objects.

Heidi Tarver is a ceramic artist and designer based in California. Born and raised in Washington D.C., she earned her BA in Education from U.C. Santa Cruz in 1976, and her Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley in 1997. Heidi creates intricate, colorful vessels and objects characterized by unique forms and vibrant geometric patterns. Her work has most recently been exhibited at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Ashville, NC, the Culture Object Gallery in New York, and at the Homo Faber 2024 Biennale in Venice. In a time when mass production and digital replicas dominate, Heidi’s handcrafted pieces invite a renewed appreciation for the art of handcraftsmanship and the power of the singular object.