October 24, 2017 - April 15, 2018

Philadelphia ceramist Andrea Marquis has created a series of hand-carved clay sculptures based on a singular, fluid moment in time – a cast shadow of a beloved fig tree in the artist’s garden. This fleeting moment inspired Marquis to recreate the shadow into 3-dimensional forms. Starting from an original tracing, she redrew the shadow as a symmetrical composition that she says reminds her of a Rorschach inkblot test or an abstract 2-dimensional shape that conjures different associations from multiple people.

Marquis continually reworks the original composition as she flips, mirrors, and overlaps elements creating multiple iterations of the source drawing. In each variation, she develops intricate and complex patterns that are then transformed from 2-dimensional drawings to 3-dimensional freestanding forms.

Marquis transfers each drawn image onto the clay by piercing through the drawing into the stoneware. The form is further cut, carved, and textured until she deems the sculpture complete. Marquis describes the transformation from shadow to object, “the shadow takes a new shape, and the clay form begins to let the light back through the negative spaces. This process—the capturing and materializing of an ephemeral moment—fascinates me.” 

For more information about the artist, visit andreamarquis.com