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Fragile Acts of Starting Fires

Unfired clay, ceramic

David Kruk

Collection of Vessels

Unfired clay

David Kruk

Artist Statment:

As a child, I was fascinated with the way things were put together. I was always going around the house searching for objects to disassemble and reassemble. Everything was an intricate puzzle--a composition of smaller parts that, when choreographed in just the right way, produced a new thing. My art practice is a continual evolution of this innate curiosity that has been transposed from the constituents of objects to the constructions of meanings.

As a post-bacc student at Kent State University, I was pushing myself to explore space using the vocabulary of installation art. This academic setting provided me with valuable resources, feedback and criticism, and social bonding which the work could not have existed without. The day I completed installing my solo exhibition, I was informed that it had to be taken down because the school was shutting its doors. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected my studio practice by essentially dissolving a particular set of fertile nutrients that fed my exploration. To adapt, my partner and I transformed part of the kitchen space in her apartment into a home studio. As a reaction to the domestic setting, I gravitated towards creating clay vessels. These objects are constantly rearranged and moved around the apartment, creating new compositions and sets of still lives.

While this pandemic has shifted my artistic practice, I am also finding it an extremely valuable moment in time to learn and grow from. The lack of studio spaciousness has reminded me of the intimacy of smaller objects and simpler processes. Without critique from my professors and peers, my partner and I have been creating a dialogue which both helps our ability to articulate what we mean and encourages us to continue making. Without the social interaction, I have been practicing turning inwards--writing and expanding on my thoughts in my sketchbook, going for hikes and appreciating nature, and creating art out of the materials in my environment. While this experience has been simultaneously detrimental and enriching, I’m looking forward to getting back into the potent rhythm of the studio.

Bio:

David was born in Mountain View, California (b. 1992) and moved to Colorado at the age of four. He received his BFA in Ceramics from Colorado State University in 2017 with a minor in Information Science & Technology. David's interest in ceramics began in 2014 when he attended Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, CO. During his time there he enrolled in his first pottery courses which ignited his fascination with clay, and from there he continued his practice to CSU. He is now working through a post-bacc program in ceramics at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.