Judd Schiffman

Artist Statement

I make objects derived from family heirlooms, personal mementos, and historic artifacts. In the studio, these souvenirs are a lens through which I interpret the transformation of culture over generations, the role of objects in society, and the nature of identity.

I investigate objects through copying, layering, skewing perspective, altering color and creating new amalgamations. Within objects, I look for the human hand, which has the potential to be compassionate, wicked, gentle, frail, and unpredictable.

I am curious about how physical objects have functioned in the past versus their role today. Specifically, I am interested in the simultaneous ritualization, and indifference to the mementos that accompany a person throughout life.

-- Judd Schiffman

Bio

Judd Schiffman lives and works in Providence, RI. He has lectured at Harvard Ceramics and Brown University Hillel, and participated in residencies at the Zentrum Fur Keramiks in Berlin, Germany and Arch Contemporary in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Schiffman received his MFA from the University of Colorado in 2015, and his BA from Prescott College in 2007. Schiffman’s work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, CA, Portland, OR, Boulder, CO, Beacon, NY, Providence, RI, Fall River, MA, and Berlin, Germany. In 2016, he received an emerging artists award from the National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts. Schiffman is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Providence College.