ARTIST INFO
SEAN O’CONNELL
Penland, NC
CLAY | Functional and sculptural ceramics
Penland Affiliation | Penland Resident Artist 2021-2024, Penland Instructor 2019
Artist Information | Studio artist; education: MFA Ceramics, Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), BFA Sculpture, Kansas City Art Institute (KS); professional experience: Education and Communications Coordinator, Red Lodge Clay Center (MT); teaching: Penland School, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (IL), Alberta College of Art & Design (Canada), State University of New York; awards: 2016 Emerging Artist NCECA, 2013 Emerging Artist Ceramics Monthly, Windgate Fellowship Archie Bray Foundation (MT); residences: Penland School, Oxbox School of Art (MI), Arrowmont Pentaculum (TN), Archie Bray Foundation (MT), Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts (ME); exhibitions: Red Lodge Clay Center (MT), AKAR (IA), Mudfire Studios (GA), Montana Clay Tour, Eutectic Gallery NCECA (OR)
Artist Statement | I believe in the beauty of handmade objects. I also value the constraints of each type of media I work with. Creating by hand is a deliberate attempt at slowing down, connecting to something deeper, and taking time to appreciate the pleasure of labor. I use pattern as a means of exploring the nature of abstraction and my forms focus on creating a space for those patterns within the context of utility.
Many of the motifs I use are adapted or interpreted from textiles, paintings, and natural geometry. My formal vocabulary is culled from historic and contemporary ceramic art, traditional design, and my own few novel additions. It is within these chosen limitations that I search for a sense of beauty and self-expression.