2/10/2023-10/3/2023

Philadelphia-area artist Lindsay Keating is known for creating ceramic objects that have dark-themes and include symbols of her favorite holiday Halloween—bats, crows, witches, devils, coffins, blood, and bonfires. Keating’s ceramics are handmade using a pottery wheel to build the forms. Techniques also include grafitto--where the clay body is scratched to reveal the underlayer, and mishima--when color is filled into grooves.

Keating said, “My handcrafted ceramics play with the tension between aesthetics and functionality. Sculptural elements infuse the utilitarian pieces with beauty, texture, and narrative. Mythology, and drama are built into the imagery…My work is described as whimsical, satirical, and illustrative.”

For this exhibition, Keating created vessels based on Pandora, the first mortal woman in Greek mythology. As the myth states, there is a jar gifted to Pandora that contains “plagues and evils.” Although told not to open it, Pandora does and unleashes evil into the world. It is said, that only hope is left inside the jar. Here, hope is depicted with a butterfly visible inside one of the vessels. Keating’s large-scale pottery features rounded forms and warm glazes purposefully accentuated by silhouetted handles that represent batwings and sharp thorn-like shapes. Many have openings that appear to have burst, some have elements of smoky fabric. Like the Pandora myth, Keating’s vessels are curiously inviting through their beautiful craftsmanship and coloration yet adorned with ominous warnings.

More of Lindsay Keating's work can be found here.