Luisa Maisel
Born in the United States, I have lived and worked in France for the past 45 years. During this time, I have dedicated my ceramic practice to three series: ‘Face-to-Face’, ‘Stacking & Piling’, and ‘Ceramic-ing’.
In ‘Face-to-Face’, I am driven by the transformative process of portraiture, exploring themes of social codes, power and identity. ‘Stacking & Piling’ reflects my engagement with issues of social injustice. These narrative sculptures are composed of everyday objects, evoke memory, traces, and transformation. Through this process, I investigate the symbolic value we assign to these objects and their capacity to convey stories of resilience and resis- tance. ‘Ceramic-ing’ celebrates the versatility of clay, embracing both its complexity and simplicity.
As far as the material is concerned, I am forever fascinated by the clays complexity, it’s transformation from liquid to solid, dirty to clean, rough to glossy, soft to hard, from mud to sublime.