Artist Statement
I hope to build ceramic works that evoke a sense of beauty, a quality of understated elegance that speaks quietly for itself with humility and a refined sophistication. The objects are intimate, personal and meant to make visible my invisible thoughts, observations, and feelings about the world around me. My goal is to convey these sensibilities to others by the care and touch I put into the pieces. I enjoy combining form and design, creating intimate shapes and objects using stoneware that are finished with color, texture, and painting, that reflect a quiet appreciation of nature and my memory of it. I am also influenced by the design aesthetics, culture, and physical environment of various places where I have traveled and lived, including Cyprus, Latin America, North Africa, Europe, and parts of the US. Having grown up near the ocean, I have always been drawn to the organic shapes of sea shells and marine life of all kinds; other natural forms, such as fossils, plants, and animals have always figured heavily in my work. I appreciate the wonder of animal structures such as spider webs, coral, and honeycombs, as well as a sense of home they evoke. I am drawn also to the fragility and strength of birds, and the variety, structure, and beauty of flowers. These things remind me of the ephemeral quality of human existence and the wonder of being alive. Although my work is decorative and contemplative, I enjoy making pieces that are functional as well.
Bio
Lauren Silver has a BFA from Parsons School of Design where she studied with Professor James Makins creating vessels thrown on the potters wheel and later attended Cranbrook Academy of Art where she studied with Professor Graham Marks receiving an MFA. At Cranbrook, she concentrated on making hand built ceramic sculpture. During this time Lauren took workshops with Robert Turner at Anderson Ranch Arts Center and studied with Cynthia Bringle and Michael Simon at Haystack MT School of Crafts. She studied Bronze Age pottery and Cycladic Art in Cyprus while creating her own work as a Fulbright scholar. These experiences helped guide her and she began to find her personal voice. She is currently the ceramics teacher at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont. Before that she taught ceramics and sculpture at Parsons School of Design, Brookdale Community College and Raritan Valley Community College. She continues to create her own pieces and has shown her work in museums and galleries in the U.S. and Europe.
Selected Exhibitions
2016 Three Pears Gallery, Dorset, VT
2008 “Forms and Spaces” Windham Gallery, Brattleboro, VT, Featured artists
2008 Bennington Museum, Bennington, VT, Featured artist
2008 Chaffee Art Gallery, Rutland, VT, Featured artist
2007 Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, Vt , Solo Exhibition
2007 Art Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY , Juried Exhibition
2004 Jersey City Museum, New Jersey Arts Annual, Jersey City, NJ , Juried
2003 Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ , Juried exhibition
1999 Brodsky Gallery, Princeton, NJ, Juried Exhibition
1998 Thompson Park Art Exhibition, Lincroft, NJ, Solo Exhibition
1998 Art Alliance, “Rhythm and Movement”/ “Identity”, Red Bank, NJ
2006 Jane Hartsook Gallery, New York, NY, Juried Exhibition
1997 Hopkins House Gallery, Camden, NJ, Juried Exhibition
1996 Raritan Valley Community College Art Gallery, Somerville, NJ, Faculty
1996 Cyprus and American Archeological Research Institute, (CAARI),
Nicosia, CYPRUS, Soloexhibition, Fulbright
1994 Noyes Museum, NJSCA Fellowship Exhibition, Oceanville, NJ, Invitational
1994 Montclair State University, NJSCA Fellowship Exhibition, Montclair, NJ
1994 “In Search of Excellence”, NJDC Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ , Group
1992 “Envisioned in a Pastoral Setting”, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT
1992 Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ , Faculty Show
1992 The Potter’s Gallery, West Chester, PA , Group Show
1995 “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral,” The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA, Group
1995 “New Ceramics,” Creative Artist Workshop, New Haven, CT, Group
1992 “Nature Revisited,” Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT, Invitational
1992 Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
1991 “Emerging Artists,” Janice Charach Epstein Museum/Gallery, MI
1991 Kingswood Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI
1991 “Progressions,” Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
1991 “Michigan Ceramics ‘91,” Community Arts Gallery, Detroit, MI
1991 “Forum Gallery,” Bloomfield Hills, MI
1991 “Women in Art,” Oakland Community College, Farmington Hills, MI
1991 Gateway Gallery, Haystack School, Deer Isle, ME
Selected Exhibitions
2012, 2016 Bigelow Fund Award/ BBA Travel grant for teachers
2012 RISE Award, Burr and Burton Academy
2010 The Power of Art Award, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Washington, D.C.
1995-96 Fulbright Recipient; Cyprus
1995 Fellowship; New Jersey State Council of the Arts
1992 Cranbrook Merit Scholarship, Cranbrook Academy of Art, MI
1992 Elizabeth Gosset Award, Academy Merit Scholarship, MI
1991 Monitor Scholarship, Haystack School, Deer Isle, ME, Assistant Teacher