William DePauw

My most recent body of work investigates ceramic form within the context of historic vessels, architectural ornament, and object culture broadly. Called Trophies and Grave Markers, the recent series explores layered elements of pattern, text, and color as a vehicle for compelling form. I seek to impose stark relationships between structured pattern and casual marks. The use of text in this series explores a typically image-based medium that, when rendered in high relief, gives it a complex physicality perhaps subverting the typical image/reference function. I enjoy the idea that these objects are artifacts of the act of making, commemorating a series of thoughts and actions.

Originally from Detroit Michigan, William DePauw received his BFA from Northern Michigan University in 1996 with a concentration in painting. He received his MFA from Tulane University in 2004. He has held the position of Professor of Practice and Ceramics Lab Tech in the Newcomb Art Department since 2006. His creative practice is mainly involved with the plastic medium of clay and exploring the broad possibilities in making objects. His work has been included in exhibitions at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, The New Bedford Art Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Whitespace gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a founding member of Staple Goods co-op gallery/collective.