Peter Christian Johnson

Artist Statement

My work explores transformation using the kiln as a vehicle for deconstruc-tion. The porcelain grid systems become an architecture over which to stretch a fluid skin that warps or collapses the structures under the strain of the firing. They expose the relationship between soft and hard, the fluidity of a membrane, and the moment of intersection between these contrasting elements. They pair labored construction with unpredictability, and capture the entropy embodied in the process.

Bio

Peter Christian Johnson is currently Assistant professor of Art at Kent State University after serving for more then decade as the head of the ceramics department at Eastern Oregon University. He earned his MFA from Penn State University and a BS in Environmental Science at Wheaton College. Peter has been a Visiting Artist at the Alberta College of Art and Design, Australian National University, the University of Florida, Montana State University, as well as numerous other institutions. He has been a resident artist at, The Archie Bray Foundation, the LH Project and the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts. His work has been exhibited in Canada, Australia, and through out the United States.