Artist Statement
Lisa Conway
Artist’s Statement
Through my work, I use elements of the natural world to reflect on and reference the human body. My sculptures evoke emotional and physical sensations, appearing as plant-like or abstract forms that blush, sag, reach, tense, or soften. In this way, I explore the emotional language of the human body and how our identities are shaped through intimacy, vulnerability, and connection. Like plants growing toward the sun, I see sexuality as a vital, essential force—one that informs how we move through the world. As a result, my work carries a strong sensual undercurrent.
My conceptual development is grounded in a deep engagement with ceramic materials and processes. The clay body becomes a metaphor for my own body; as I stretch, shape, and build each piece, I test the boundaries of clay as a material and my own internal, physical sensations. I develop surfaces in layers through multiple firings—glazes are applied and fired, then sometimes sandblasted, polished, and occasionally finished with wax or oil paint. The resulting surfaces are richly varied: sometimes stone-like, sometimes glossy, always subtle, tactile, and evocative.
My most recent work centers on a series of ceramic knots. Historically, knots have functioned as tools for storytelling, timekeeping, and calculation, and many knots carry narratives of love, promise, or faith. After years of exploring twisting plant forms and the interplay between interior and exterior spaces inherent in ceramic vessels, knots have now become a way for me to move from containment toward entanglement, tension, and connection. These layered meanings ground my work in both material history and human experience.
The knots I create are organic, bulging, and charged with tension. They suggest intimacy and restraint, vulnerability and strength. They speak to the promises we make to each other and the stories we tell about ourselves. At times, the knots read as two bodies - coupled strands of material bound together in connections that are tender, visceral, and essential.
Having lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest for over thirty years, I draw deep inspiration from its natural world. Quiet moments of observation and awe inform my practice, encouraging compassion, reflection, and joy. I hope my work offers viewers a similar sense of connection, gentleness, and embodied awareness.