Ceramics Monthly: Looking back after being named a Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist in 2013, do you see a coherent throughline in your work or a series of reinventions?
Matt Mitros: When I’m in the studio, each piece feels like embarking on a new adventure. Yet, when I step back, I see a linear trajectory from today’s work to the work I made thirteen years ago when I received this award. One thread is my fascination with combining themes and materials. Thematically, I return to the union between organic and architectural iconography. In terms of materials, it’s all about finding harmony where it’s not expected. Despite the throughline, reinvention is the catalyst for what I do. I get bored with repetition for the sake of material refinement. The “mug composition” series has been an ongoing project that forces me to keep exploring the nature of a mug. Each one operates individually but is also part of a larger body of work, which often embraces an unconventional handling of materials. I suppose the real throughline is reinvention.
CM: If your career were entering a new chapter now, what would you want it to prioritize? What does momentum mean to you now?
MM: Your question is timely. I’ve been fortunate to jump from various roles since completing my MFA at the University of Washington in 2006. To name a few, I’ve been an artist in residence, a teacher, a professor, and an executive director at an art center. Now, as a full-time studio artist, working from home, I continue to make weird sculptures and “mug compositions.” I’m also exploring a more functional body of work, perhaps because my current existence is deeply rooted in the home and garden. That type of work has a different rhythm. Rhythm is one of the fuels used to create momentum.
In my studio, I am cautious when momentum shifts from ideas to material mastery. To be honest, I am not interested in mastering any one material or technique. I love when an idea is so elusive, or massive, or intimidating, or complex that it screams I return day after day in pursuit of its essential meaning or purpose.
Awards should never give us purpose, but the CM Emerging Artist award can be career altering. I was selected with such talented makers from across the world and given the opportunity to have my work shared with the CM readership, which is no small thing. This year’s award recipients are some of the finest makers in contemporary ceramics. I am so thankful that CM, year after year, devotes great energy to the selection of artists whose careers will advance in a positive way. This is a unique award, one that I hope reemerges for many years to come.
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Ceramics Monthly: Looking back after being named a Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist in 2013, do you see a coherent throughline in your work or a series of reinventions?
Matt Mitros: When I’m in the studio, each piece feels like embarking on a new adventure. Yet, when I step back, I see a linear trajectory from today’s work to the work I made thirteen years ago when I received this award. One thread is my fascination with combining themes and materials. Thematically, I return to the union between organic and architectural iconography. In terms of materials, it’s all about finding harmony where it’s not expected. Despite the throughline, reinvention is the catalyst for what I do. I get bored with repetition for the sake of material refinement. The “mug composition” series has been an ongoing project that forces me to keep exploring the nature of a mug. Each one operates individually but is also part of a larger body of work, which often embraces an unconventional handling of materials. I suppose the real throughline is reinvention.
CM: If your career were entering a new chapter now, what would you want it to prioritize? What does momentum mean to you now?
MM: Your question is timely. I’ve been fortunate to jump from various roles since completing my MFA at the University of Washington in 2006. To name a few, I’ve been an artist in residence, a teacher, a professor, and an executive director at an art center. Now, as a full-time studio artist, working from home, I continue to make weird sculptures and “mug compositions.” I’m also exploring a more functional body of work, perhaps because my current existence is deeply rooted in the home and garden. That type of work has a different rhythm. Rhythm is one of the fuels used to create momentum.
In my studio, I am cautious when momentum shifts from ideas to material mastery. To be honest, I am not interested in mastering any one material or technique. I love when an idea is so elusive, or massive, or intimidating, or complex that it screams I return day after day in pursuit of its essential meaning or purpose.
Awards should never give us purpose, but the CM Emerging Artist award can be career altering. I was selected with such talented makers from across the world and given the opportunity to have my work shared with the CM readership, which is no small thing. This year’s award recipients are some of the finest makers in contemporary ceramics. I am so thankful that CM, year after year, devotes great energy to the selection of artists whose careers will advance in a positive way. This is a unique award, one that I hope reemerges for many years to come.
Photo: Adrian Mitros
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