Saori Matsushita ( she/her )

My artistic practice is rooted in a desire to explore how we can exist without dominating others or being dominated. Through creation, I examine oppression, autonomy, memory, and the ways individuals communicate and leave traces of their existence.

I work primarily with ceramics because clay retains the marks of physical contact and movement. It records gestures and pressure, while drying and firing further transform the forms created by my actions. These transformations are rooted in my deliberate interventions, yet their outcomes are not entirely within my control. 

My interest in autonomy grew from experiences within restrictive social and educational environments, where conformity was often valued over individuality. Working with clay has become a way to reclaim my own agency while acknowledging the independence of something outside myself.

Memory and communication are equally important to my practice. I am interested in how ordinary objects and physical traces preserve human experiences, particularly those that might otherwise disappear or remain unspoken. By transforming familiar forms through ceramic processes, I explore the relationship between fragility and permanence, and how material objects can carry evidence of individual lives.

Saori Matsushita is a Seattle-based artist working primarily with ceramics. Born and raised in Japan, she received her BFA in 2014 and MFA in Sculpture in 2016 from Musashino Art University in Tokyo. Her practice explores memory, communication, and the relationship between human intention and material behavior. Through experimentation with ceramic materials and processes, she investigates how familiar forms can be transformed and reinterpreted. Her work has been exhibited at Gallery 4Culture and studio e in Seattle, and The Clay Studio in Philadelphia.