Shauna Fahley ( She/Her )

My work embodies the intersection of both the material and subject, clay and horse. Both share a long history that is rooted in the development of civilization. It is not my goal to illustrate the romantic or heroic image of the horse. Instead, I aim to reconfigure the equine icon as a vehicle for understanding empathy beyond ourselves, the animal and greater consciousness of humanity. I am deconstructing the equestrian monument, making it without a position of power or a dominant figure. I am exploring large equine forms in a modern context as an archaic remix to interpret and critique the past while existing in the present. This work is the alternative to the equestrian monument; it is the equine monument. I am dissecting the monument as a symbol in culture while at the same time bringing my understanding and experience with the horse as a sentient. 

Clay catalogs sensory information offered through an artist's hand. The memory that clay holds from the intuitive response of human contact is central to my process. The tacit dialogue I experience while working with clay parallels my understanding of the body language between horse and rider. I must be alert and ready to respond to the physical changes both horse and clay go through. Horseback riding requires me to develop an awareness for movement and a feel for things internally, not just visually. My seat in the saddle is not a passive experience. The horse's body relative to the viewers is a powerful experience that brings us outside ourselves. In spending time with these objects, viewers are invited to transcend the static and investigate embodiment, change, ephemerality, and the gigantic.

Shauna Fahley (b 1994, Renton, WA. Lives Brooklyn, NY) is a ceramicist. Her sculptures embody her chosen compounding material and subject: clay and horse. She notes that both are foundational to humankind’s development. Her primary aim is, she writes, “to reconfigure the equine icon as a vehicle for understanding empathy beyond ourselves.” Fahley’s sculptures critique the legacy of horses’ objectification in Western Art, presenting an alternative vision.  Many of her sculptures eschew the rider, focussing solely on the horse. They are the collective image of horses throughout time, a modern equine monument. And yet, some works reveal that the best horse-human interactions shed hierarchy in favor of an expansion of two separate beings into one. It begins with points of contact: hand to clay, hand to coat, seat to spine.Fahley holds a Master of Fine Art in Ceramic Art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (2021), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 3D4M from The University of Washington (2017). Fahley’s artwork has been acquired by prominent private collections and prestigious institutions, including The Jim Kolva and Pat Sullivan Collection, The Alfred Ceramics Art Museum, and The Archie Bray Foundation Permanent Collection. Recognized for her artistic excellence, Fahley has received numerous awards and grants, such as the Miami University Young Sculptors Competition, the Studio Potter Merit Award and the Windgate Scholarship.