Artist Statement
I use the animal figure to explore empathy and sentiency, and to challenge the perceived order and comfortable classifications of life. My figures are tricksters—both familiar and alien, corporeal and ethereal—existing at the interface of human and animal worlds. Their stoic postures and ornate, often beautiful appearances can act as facades for existential uncertainties. They oblige our instinctual reactions, yet as we begin to identify with them, we admit that their identities are perhaps not so clearly defined.
Material and process are the tangible means through which I contemplate the realm of these figures. As I build large body parts, establish gestures, and articulate fine details, each figure acquires a unique physical and emotional presence. They are subtle hybrids, inspired by the nuance and sameness of species’ behaviors and anatomies. In a process similar to taxidermy, the fired animal is often covered in a ‘skin’. Rather than animal hides, however, the skins I create are made of more unfamiliar materials, such as string, sticks, nails, or sequins. They are meticulously and lovingly applied, allowing me to both control and understand the emerging figure. This careful ornamentation produces a surface in which every feature is attended to. Moments of intimacy appear throughout the entire piece.
My work is inspired by the raw commonalities of animal and human life, and encourages us to consider them through an imaginative, otherworldly lens. The process of making is central to its meaning. My practice is an empathetic gesture; the desire to create a believable sense of life pulls me forward as a maker.
-- Lindsay Pichaske
Bio
Lindsay Pichaske is an artist and educator based in St. Louis, MO. She received her MFA from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her BFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her work is exhibited throughout the country, including Jane Hartsook Gallery at Greenwich House Pottery in New York City, SOFA Chicago, Duane Reed Gallery in St. Louis, and Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, DC. She was a long-term resident artist and Taunt Fellow at the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts (2011-2012). She received an “Emerging Artist” Award from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (2013) and the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award (2014). She has taught at various institutions, including Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD), George Washington University (Washington, DC), and Penland School of Crafts (Penland, NC).