Marissa Y Alexander
Artist Statement
The different streams of my work are united by coil and line. A coil generates form, form creates edges and silhouettes, and edges and silhouettes frame surfaces. When performed repeatedly, a gesture as simple as making a line builds and transforms. Thinly extruded lines of glaze applied side by side melt and become intricate compositions of colours, shapes, patterns, and textures. This work’s slowness invites the potential for the disruption of processes and the flexibility to wander from original ideas. My thoughts revolve around concepts of beauty, femininity, nature, and materiality as I wade through memories of family gardens during my formative years, turning these fleeting recollections into permanent notations of experience.
Artist Bio
Marissa Y Alexander is an ceramic artist living and working in Hamilton, Ontario. She builds with clay to make both functional and sculptural ceramic objects. Marissa is interested in the process of inventing form through coil building and establishing alluring surfaces that create patterns and narratives to visually describe her reflections on everyday life and envision the ideal amid contemporary reality. She received her MFA in Ceramic Art from Alfred University and was previously a full-time Artist-In-Resident at Harbourfront Centre. Alexander has garnered recognition for her ceramics, earning various awards while exhibiting both nationally and internationally.